KYIV, Oct 28 – Ukraine on Thursday defended its first ever deployment of a combat drone to strike pro-Russian rebel artillery in Donetsk region after Germany and France had expressed concerns over the escalation.

Ukraine used the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone to destroy a battery of D-30 howitzers that have been shelling for hours Ukrainian positions, killing one Ukrainian soldier and wounding another.

Germany and France have later criticized Ukraine for using the drone, echoing Russia’s position, and urging all parties to deescalate and comply with the Minsk ceasefire agreement.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday responded to those concerns.

"First, Ukraine did not violate anything,” Kuleba said at a press conference. “Second, we followed the necessary communication procedures through the Joint Coordination and Control Center with the OSCE in order to exercise the right to self-defense.”

Kuleba also expressed bewilderment that Russian-backed forces using powerful howitzers to bombard Ukraine from the areas that has been clearly in violation of the Minsk agreement hasn’t caught much attention in Germany.

"So, for some reason, when a howitzer is pushed to the line of demarcation, our positions are shelled and our soldiers are killed, this fact remains without proper assessment,” Kuleba said.

“We communicate with German colleagues, we have no doubt that they remain principled supporters of a peaceful settlement, but any evaluations should be provided taking into account the full context of the situation,” Kuleba said.

The strike was ordered by Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Valery Zaluzhniy. The drone, which did not cross the line of contact, destroyed one howitzer with a guided bomb.”

The deployment of Bayraktar TB2 is a major change in the conflict, giving Ukraine a capability to target energy positions from afar and use precision strike missiles.

Azerbaijan has successfully used the Bayraktar drones to defeat Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict a year ago.

Bayraktar TB2 can carry a maximum payload of more than 150 kg and can fly up to 22,500 feet and loiter for more than 24 hours.

Ukraine received the first such drone from Turkey in July. Ukrainian drone operators had a three-month training course in Turkey that had been completed about a month ago. (tl/ez)