Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili denied information saying an unmanned aircraft was shot down over Abkhazia' s territory, according to Itar-Tass. “No unmanned aircraft was shot down over the Ochamchira district. I've just talked with the defence minister on this issue. The aircraft is flying over Abkhazia's territory and none shot it down.” Earlier, certain mass media quoted the Abkhazian Defence Ministry saying the unmanned aircraft was shot down over the self-proclaimed republic. Meanwhile, Abkhazian Deputy Defence Minister Garri Kupalba said a Georgian reconnaissance plane had been shot down over the Ochamchira district at 5.10 p.m. Moscow time. In his words, some time later another unmanned aircraft was flying, but the defence minister did not issue an order to shot it down “because the plan flew on the international line”. At present, the debris of the plane is being searched for, Kupalba added. This is the third Georgian reconnaissance plane, which was shot down over Abkhazia from March 18. The latest two aircraft were shot down on the same day – on May 4, the previous ones on March 18 and April 20.
