The Armed Forces of Ukraine use their existing weapons only to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state and only in response to the violation of the ceasefire in Donbas by Russian-occupation forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made the relevant statement during his conversation with journalists in Odesa, as the presidential press service reported on Friday.
"Ukraine protects its territory and its sovereignty in accordance with the duty and oath of everyone who serves today, who protects Ukrainian statehood. We do not attack, we only answer," Zelensky said answering journalists' questions regarding the reaction of individual states to the use of the Bayraktar unmanned aerial vehicle by the Ukrainian serviceen in the JFO area.
He said the Ukrainian Armed Forces are opening fire back in accordance with the ceasefire agreements and noted that Ukraine uses unmanned aerial vehicles only for protection.
"When the Ukrainian army feels that it needs to defend its land, it does so. And it will continue to act on this principle," Zelensky said.
On October 26, Ukraine deployed a Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone to compel pro-Russian separatists into a cease-fire. The drone had destroyed an artillery unit belonging to pro-Russian separatists using a guided bomb. Ukrainian authorities said the drone had not crossed the line of contact between the two warring sides.
As reported, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that military drones used by Ukraine may have been manufactured in Turkey, but Ankara cannot be held responsible for their use after the sale. He was commenting on Kremlin's statement that the Turkish drones "risked destabilizing" the situation in eastern Ukraine.
