Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba considers the use of the Bayraktar military reconnaissance and strike complex by the Ukrainian military in the area of the Joint Forces Operation in the Donbas justified, since the drone was used to stop the violation of the Minsk agreements by Russian mercenaries in the Donbas. He stated this in an interview with the Zeit German news outlet, - Interfax-Ukraine reports.
"The Russian side used heavy artillery, a 120-mm howitzer weapon, on the line of contact, having fired at Ukrainian positions from it, having killed one Ukrainian soldier, having injured another one and having damaged civilian infrastructure. This is a clear violation of the Minsk agreements. Not using a drone to stop these illegal actions", - he stated.
Responding to the remark of the newspaper's journalist regarding the statement of the representative of the German Foreign Ministry that only the OSCE mission can use drones on the contact line in the Donbas, Kuleba noted that Ukraine "has already expressed disagreement with the logic of this statement".
"First of all, because it completely ignores the real reason why we have to defend ourselves. The howitzer is a heavy artillery system, prohibited by "Minsk". Our drone did not cross the contact line, but hit the howitzer. And secondly: when Russia uses drones, I don't hear any statements of deep concern", - the MFA head emphasized.
He added that before using Bayraktar, the Ukrainian military had clearly followed all the OSCE procedures, used all the agreed de-escalation mechanisms and fulfilled all the requirements.
"That is, we did not violate any agreements. But when they attack and kill us, we will strike back, because this is our country, and we will defend it", - Kuleba noted.
The minister also stated that Ukraine would not allow a "bloody safari for the Russians" in the Donbas.
"There will be no bloody safari when the Russians can indiscriminately violate the Minsk agreements, kill and destroy whatever they want, so that later everyone will start crying out when we forcibly stop this", - the MFA head stressed.
As reported, on October 26, the Armed Forces of Ukraine used the Bayraktar combat reconnaissance and strike unmanned complex, purchased from Turkey, in the area of the Joint Forces Operation in the Donbasfor the first time at the order of Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Valeriy Zaluzhny.
Later it became known that Ukraine is going to launch full-scale production of the Bayraktar unmanned aerial vehicles, which could begin in the near future.