Ukraine army receives Turkey's locally-made Bayraktar UAVs
The Ukrainian army has received a new combat drone from Turkey which it says can fly twice as far as previous models.
- World
- Published Date: 10:07 | 16 July 2021
- Modified Date: 10:15 | 16 July 2021
"The Bayraktar [flag carrier] devices greatly increase the capability of Ukraine's naval forces in the defence of the southern borders," Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Mironyuk said on Friday, according to a statement.
According to him, the new aircraft have a radius of action of about 300 kilometres, twice as far as the previous version. Kiev already has around half a dozen Turkish-made combat drones.
Government troops have been fighting Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014. According to UN estimates, the conflict has claimed more than 13,000 lives. A peace plan from 2015 is on hold.
Most recently, Ukraine also demanded weapons from Germany.
However, according to the Stockholm-based peace research institute SIPRI, Kiev itself is one of the top 20 arms exporters in the world.