VIENNA, October 3 (RIA Novosti) - The first container with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) parts has been sent to Ukraine and its arrival is imminent, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) spokesman Shiv Sharma told RIA Novosti on Friday.
"Ambassador Prokopchuk sounds about right. Their arrival in Ukraine is imminent," Sharma said.
According to the spokesman, the first container has already left manufacturer Schiebel's facility in Austria. Other containers are due to follow. The spokesman said that the OSCE does not specify arrival and deployment dates, as well as the contents of containers, over security concerns.
Earlier on Friday, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the OSCE, Ihor Prokopchuk, said that the first two drones for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission were due to arrive in Ukraine on October 5, and two more by mid-October.
The UAVs were ordered by the OSCE in mid-August and expected to be deployed in late September or early October, but have experienced several delays. Last week, Russia's OSCE permanent representative Andrei Kelin said the first drones would be tested shortly, while the ground operators were undergoing training.
On September 13, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he had officially authorized the OSCE mission to deploy drones to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire in Ukraine.
