Turkish Bayraktar TB2 Strike Drone Arrives in Ukraine

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have received the first Bayraktar TB2 strike drone system from Turkey, reported by RIA Novosti citing the country's Ministry of Defense press service.

Earlier, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced that Ukraine had purchased strike drones from Turkey to 'deter' Russia and protect its territories. State Duma deputy Ruslan Balbek, commenting on this announcement, compared Kyiv's stance to scaring children, calling the drones a 'thin straw' that would be reckless in trying to intimidate the Russian army.

'The Bayraktar TB2 is the first strike drone system delivered to Ukraine for the Armed Forces. We are conducting the final acceptance tests of the system at the deployment site. We will gain effective observation and concealment of the waters and coasts of the Black and Azov seas, as well as the capability to strike enemy maritime and ground targets with high precision,' the Defense Ministry stated in a Facebook post.

Earlier, the press service of Baykar, a leading Turkish drone manufacturer, informed RIA Novosti that Ukraine had already acquired Turkish Bayraktar strike drones. Following this news, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that reports about Turkey's sale of drones to Ukraine do not bring joy. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu remarked that his country is selling UAVs to Ukraine without preconditions, emphasizing that the transaction is not aimed against Russia.