ANKARA: Turkish drones will strengthen Kyiv’s military power, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated, praising the drones and their deterrent capabilities. Speaking to journalists in southern Antalya province, Kuleba said: “Strategically we want to do two things: We want Turkish drones to be equipped with Ukrainian engines and we want to localize production of drones in Ukraine.” Ukraine in 2019 purchased six Bayraktar TB2 armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and three ground control station systems from Turkey.
Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff Col. Gen. Rusan Khomchak recently said the country was set to acquire five more Bayraktar TB2 drones in 2021.
Turkish drones have gained popularity since the hardware was deployed in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan during conflicts that were prominently covered around the world. The UAVs are currently in active use in Turkey, Qatar, Libya, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. “Russia spares no effort to talk countries out of selling arms to Ukraine because Russia wants a weak Ukraine. The weaker we are the easier it will be for Russia to impose something to us,” Kuleba said.
“Drones are needed to deter Russia so that Russia thinks twice before planning escalation or large-scale attack on Ukraine. This goes not only for drones but for any kind of military equipment Ukraine is purchasing. We do not buy drones to attack but to defend ourselves,” Kuleba elaborated, saying that Kyiv will use them “in any part of Ukrainian territory to defend ourselves.”
Military tensions between Ukraine and Russia have been high since the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia in 2014.
Turkey, along with the rest of NATO, criticized Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and voiced support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity as Kyiv’s forces battle pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The Crimean Platform was established in October 2020 as part of Ukraine’s strategy of de-occupation of Crimea.
Turkey was among the first countries to voice support for the Crimean Platform to be held on Aug. 23.
“Russia treats the Crimean Platform in the exact same way as weapons being sold to Ukraine. They call everyone they can to talk them out from participating in the Crimean Platform,” Kuleba stated.
Saying that the Crimean Platform is a “political weapon of Ukraine” to defend its territorial integrity and to restore its borders, Kuleba added: “I do not think there are closer friends in Crimea than Ukraine and Turkey, we are two nations who care for this piece of land, for the people living there historically, for Crimean Tatars. – Agencies
