HONG KONG (Realist English). Turkey adheres to “pro-Ukrainian neutrality”, continuing to supply drones and other military equipment to the zone of the special operation of the Russian Army in the Ukraine. This was stated in an interview with CNBC by Soner Cagaptay, a senior researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy:
“I think Turkey’s actually in the front, but not at the centre, at least not publicly, of this conflict,” said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Programme and senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in Washington. “Its official policy regarding the war is what I would call ‘pro-Ukraine neutrality’. It acts neutral. It wants the war to end, but it is militarily helping Ukraine. … It has been selling these killer drones to Ukraine that are apparently doing an amazing job.”
According to independent estimates, the number of Bayraktar TB2 in the Ukraine ranges from 20 to 50. Turkey started selling drones to the Ukraine back in 2019. The cost of one UAV is estimated at less than $2 million. They are produced by Baykar, owned by the family of Selcuk Bayraktar, the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Erdogan.
Previously, Ankara used its drones during the Turkish-Baku aggression against Artsakh and Armenia, helping the forces of international terrorism to seize Armenian lands. The Turks also used UAVs against Kurdish militias in Turkey, northern Iraq and Syria.
According to British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, who spoke in parliament on March 9, that Turkish UAVs provide direct air support and fire in depth, delivering ammunition to their artillery and even to their supply lines, which are incredibly important for slowing or blocking the Russian offensive.
