LPR threatens to shoot down Ukrainian aicraft near the contact line in Donbas
A representative of the Defense Department of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), Lieutenant Colonel Andrey Marochko said that LPR militants would shoot down Ukrainian military aircraft if Ukrainian Armed Forces use them near the contact line in the Donbas, reports Luginform news outlet.
“The use of combat aircraft is a gross violation of the agreements reached in Minsk,” he said. According to Marochko, Luhansk has the right to shoot down air targets, which fly into the 30-kilometer zone from the contact line. “Demonstrating the use of aviation by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donbas is most likely another PR move and an attempt to raise the spirit of the Ukrainian militants,” Marochko said.
In Ukraine, from October 8th-19th, military exercises named Clear Sky 2018 were held with the participation of NATO countries. According to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, maneuvers are necessary “to demonstrate that the price for Russia to attack Ukraine will be very high.”