A post has been published on the social media "Telegram" claiming the presence of drones (at least 5) last night (July 21) in northern Kosovo that, as it is said, do not belong to KFOR but to Albanians.
The Serbian-language Telegram channel named “БУНТ је стънде духа” (Albanian: rebellion is a state of mind) has claimed that “more drones fly over northern Kosovo than in Ukraine, the question arises, what is the function of KFOR in Kosovo?”, implying that the drones belong to Kosovo security units and why KFOR is allowing them to fly over the airspace in the north.
This claim published by this channel is not based on any credible source for the claim made.
Screenshot of the post from the channel "БУНТ је стаје духа" on Telegram:
This post, published yesterday (July 21), has managed to accumulate over 15 thousand views as of the writing of this article.
After research conducted through online search engines, hibrid.info has not found any articles published in online media in Albanian or Serbian that support such a claim.
Likewise, no announcement has been published by KFOR about the presence of drones in northern Kosovo.
Furthermore, on July 16, Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, announced the purchase of Bayraktar TB-2 drones from Turkey, but did not disclose their number.
However, in the claim of the channel "BUNT is a state of mind", they do not specify the types of drones that were allegedly seen.
KFOR has issued a statement regarding the use of drones, saying that “Kosovo’s upper airspace can only be used to fly over Kosovo from one location to another with commercial flights,” and that the lower airspace requires authorization from the KFOR commander.
“Regarding the use of all categories of drones and the relevant restrictions, including the Bayraktar TB-2, in accordance with United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 (The agreement of Kumanovo), The Command of the NATO military peacekeeping mission in Kosovo “KFOR” has primary authority over the airspace over Kosovo”. (here)
Lower airspace means altitudes up to 6.250 meters. Bayraktar TB-2 drones mainly fly at altitudes up to 5.000 meters. (here)
Analyze:
There is no factual support for the claim of the channel "BUNT is a state of mind" on Telegram about the presence of Albanian drones in northern Kosovo.
Based on its working methodology, hibrid.info assesses this claim as "fake news".
Rating:
The "Fake News" rating is given to media reports that are entirely the product of a medium that itself contains factually incorrect claims or information.
Content that is considered fake news can be reliably determined to have been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.