OSCE mission says surveillance cams in Zolote get laser-blinded

According to Ukrinform, that's according to Daily Report No. 166/2021, released by the OSCE SMM on July 19, 2021.

"During the night of 17-18 July, visual interference, assessed as caused by beams of laser light, limited the observational capabilities of SMM cameras in Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) and at the Donetsk Filtration Station (15km north of Donetsk) for about two hours, "the report said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the OSCE SMM to Ukraine said the Ukrainian military had repeatedly encountered the use of blinding lasers by Russia-controlled armed groups near the village of Luhanske.

Ukrainian diplomats stressed that the use of optical or optoelectronic equipment is prohibited by the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects.

Article 1 of Protocol IV to the said Convention prohibits "It is prohibited to employ laser weapons specifically designed, as their sole combat function or as one of their combat functions, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision, that is to the naked eye or to the eye with corrective eyesight devices." The signatory parties, including Russia, have pledged not to transfer such weapons to any state or non-state entity.

On May 12, Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Serhiy Nayev, spoke of the use of special laser optoelectronic countermeasures by the invaders to hinder visual surveillance. According to Nayev, it is possible that the enemy uses laser devices for reconnaissance and counteraction to optical devices PAPV 1PN47, which the Russian Armed Forces have at their disposal.

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