Ukraine uses Turkish drone to blast pro-Russia rebels' howitzer

Ukraine has shared footage on social media of its first-ever combat deployment of a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 armed drone to destroy a howitzer used by pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region.

The Bayraktar TB2 was used for the first time to force the separatists to abide by a ceasefire, the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a Facebook statement on Tuesday. 

One Ukrainian soldier was killed and two others were wounded by howitzers, the statement said.

Turkey delivered its first batch of drones to the Ukrainian government in July which paved the way for cooperation in bilateral defence industries.

READ MORE: Turkey supports Ukraine's territorial integrity over Donbass, Crimea

Thousands of deaths since 2014

Russian forces entered the Crimean Peninsula in February 2014, with President Vladimir Putin formally dividing the region into two separate federal subjects of the Russian Federation the following month.

Turkey and the US as well as the UN General Assembly view the annexation as illegal.

Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in Donbas has seen more than 13,000 people killed since 2014, according to the UN.

The region is one of several sources of friction between Russia and Ukraine.

READ MORE: Why Ukraine’s potential entry into NATO makes Russia vulnerable