Ukraine's Ambassador: We have not directed drones at any partner country

Ukraine's Ambassador to Bulgaria Olesia Ilashchuk was invited to a meeting with Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova-Chamova over the incident involving an unmanned aerial vehicle that fell near Kardam on August 8.

During the talks, the Ukrainian ambassador assured that Ukraine's defence forces had not directed unmanned aerial vehicles towards Bulgaria or in the direction of any partner country.

"Ukraine is fully open to cooperation in conducting an investigation," Ilashchuk said.

According to her, the main cause of the incident is Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine. She stressed that Moscow is increasingly intensifying its attacks on the civilian population and civilian infrastructure in her country, which poses a direct threat to neighbouring countries.

"Ukraine relies on the international community to step up its efforts to force the Kremlin to make peace," the diplomat said.

During the meeting Ilashchuk and Petrova-Chamova also agreed to continue close coordination as part of the investigation into the causes of the incident.