Spot Report by OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): SMM long-range UAV lost near contact line in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region

On 27 June, the SMM was flying a long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over government- and non-government-controlled areas of southern Donetsk region. At 23:18, while the UAV was flying near Zaichenko (non-government-controlled, 93km south of Donetsk), on-board systems indicated that the temperature of the UAV engine had reached critically high levels and it began to rapidly lose power and altitude. While attempting a controlled descent in an unpopulated area, at 23:22, the SMM lost contact with the UAV.

The SMM assesses that the UAV was lost shortly after 23:22, in an area south of Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, non-government-controlled, 85km south of Donetsk) and about 2km east of the contact line.

It is premature to draw conclusions about the causes of the incident. The SMM is making urgent efforts to locate its long-range UAV, and will report relevant findings.