Ukraine will buy another batch of Turkish Bayraktar drones for its armed forces next year, Interfax Ukraine reported late Friday, citing the country’s defense minister.
In 2019, Ukraine purchased six Bayraktar TB2 armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and three ground control station systems from Turkey.
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.
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.