Donetsk, Feb 1 - DAN. Ukrainian armed formations have stepped up the use of unmanned aerial vehicles along the whole contact line with the Donetsk People’s Republic, DPR People’s Militia deputy commander Eduard Basurin said on Tuesday.
“We’ve been recording increasing intensity of Ukrainian UAV flights along the whole contact line,” Basurin said. “We believe that the Joint Forces Operation command is conducting aerial reconnaissance of our positions on the main line of defence in order to update target locations and prepare to fire for effect.
The use of drones is a violation of the Additional Measures to Strengthen the Ceasefire, Basurin said.
Tensions in Donbass have been mounting since mid-January. After the New Year and Christmas holidays, Ukrainian forces stepped up strikes in Donbass and began to deploy reinforcements to the region. DPR militia said that the enemy group had been reinforced with radicals, multiiple launch rocket systems and NATO weapons. Drills by chemical warfare troops were reported as well. Later on, DPR intelligence recorded deliveries of new batches of ammunition to Kiev troops on all axes.
The package of tighter ceasefire control measures has been formally in effect in Donbass since July 27, 2020. The document bans the use of any weapons, deployment of heavy armaments in and around settlements, engineer works at troops’ positions and unmanned aerial vehicle flights.*jk