During a telephone conversation on Monday, November 15, the President of France Emmanuel Macron told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that his country was ready to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine from Russian aggression. In turn, during almost 2 hours of conversation, the head of Russia complained about the allegedly destructive policy pursued by Kyiv to wreck the Minsk agreements.
Putin criticized Ukraine for its recent use of unmanned attack drones against separatists in the east of the country. The Russian president considers these actions to be a violation of the peace accords signed in Minsk in 2015. He also drew attention to the "provocative" nature of the exercises conducted by the United States in the Black Sea region.
Context. Macron's statement followed after several weeks of reports from Western countries that Russia had been pulling in soldiers and equipment to the Ukrainian border.
NATO also notes the unusual concentration of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border. The North Atlantic Alliance reaffirmed its commitment to Ukraine and its readiness to respond to aggression from the Russian Federation. Moreover, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that the exercises of the Alliance member states in the Black Sea region posed no threat to Russia.
Recall: on October 26, the Ukrainian army announced the first combat use of the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned attack drone in Donbas. At the moment, the Ukrainian side has 12 pieces of such equipment, but it plans not only to increase its number in the near future, but also to build a plant for the production of "bayraktars" and a center for their maintenance and modernization.
