The first unarmed drones arrived on Monday in Ukraine to help OSCE teams monitor the implementation of a fragile one-month truce in the separatist east, the pan-European security group said.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe will deploy four unmanned aerial vehicles along Ukraine’s border with Russia and in the war zone as part of a peace deal agreed by Moscow and Kiev on September 5, OSCE spokesman Michael Bociurkiw told AFP.
He said the vehicles were still clearing customs and would only be deployed once they are reinforced by teams of civilian experts who operate them from the ground.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves le Drian said on Sunday that France and Germany also intend to send drones to Ukraine in the coming days.
Bociurkiw said it was still unclear if those unmanned surveillance vehicles would be part of the OSCE mission or flying separately.
“Negotiations (on the subject) are ongoing at a very high level,” he said.