Russia's OSCE Envoy Sees Kiev-NATO Drills Close To Donbas Conflict Zone As Provocation

The planned joint Ukraine-NATO military drills close to the conflict area in the breakaway Donbas region can be qualified as a direct armed provocation, Russia's Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Alexander Lukashevich said in an interview with Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th June, 2021) The planned joint Ukraine-NATO military drills close to the conflict area in the breakaway Donbas region can be qualified as a direct armed provocation, Russia's Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Alexander Lukashevich said in an interview with Sputnik.

According to Russia's OSCE envoy, Ukraine plans to participate in seven joint drills with NATO member states this year, including Defender Europe, Sea Breeze, Joint Efforts and Cossack Mace.

Military cargo and instructors keep arriving in the country "as if in preparations for the drills", Lukashevich noted.

"Recent media reports claim that combat units from the United Kingdom and Denmark have already arrived in a whole number of areas located close to the contact line. The question is why? Especially given that the drills are being held really close to the zone of conflict in Donbas. This is a direct armed provocation," Lukashevich added.