U.N. report: Russian plane downed drone

MOSCOW, May 26 (UPI) -- U.N. investigators probing the downing of an unmanned Georgian reconnaissance aircraft said it was hit by a missile fired from a Russian fighter plane.

The findings refute Russia's claims that it wasn't involved in the April 30 incident, when the drone recorded its own destruction over Abkhazia, said The New York Times, which got an advance copy of the report.

Abkhazia is a separatist region in northwestern Georgia that gets Russian support. Russia has served as a peacekeeper since Georgian and Abkhaz forces entered a cease-fire in the 1990s, and has a military presence of at least 2,500 solders under a mandate approved by the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The U.N. report said use of force by a third party is "fundamentally inconsistent" with Russia's role as a peacekeeper" and raises possible "possible considerations under international law." The report also suggested previously unreported recklessness on the pilot's part, noting the plane's "interception took place very close to, or even inside an international airway, at a time (when) civilian aircraft were flying."

The report also criticized the Georgian government, saying its use of drones over Abkhazia violated the separation of forces agreement.