British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday that the TB2 Bayraktar unmanned aerial vehicles supplied to Ukraine by Turkey were helping to thwart the Russian advance.
Asked in parliament about how to help the Ukrainian air force, Wallace said TB2 was “firing” at Russia’s “artillery and supply lines”. That was “incredibly important in slowing down or hindering Russian advance,” he said.
More than 20 TB2s are believed to have been sold in Kyiv before the start of the war.
Last Wednesday, Ukraine’s Defense Minister said in a Facebook post that the country had received a new shipment of armed unmanned aircraft. “They are ready for battle,” said Oleksiy Reznikov, without elaborating.
However, Turkey is hesitant and with government orders the Turkish media downplay the action of the Turkish drones, so that it does not appear that it is personally equipping Ukraine, so as not to anger Russia. Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kiran stressed last week that Kyiv had bought the drones from Baykar. company owned by the son-in-law of the Turkish president, Selcuk Bayraktarsaying that this does not represent an agreement between the two nations.
Turkey has good ties with both tries to balance on the diplomatic frontier in the battle between the West and Russia, faithful to the doctrine of skillful neutral. He has criticized the invasion as unacceptable, but has avoided the harsher rhetoric of other NATO members and opposes the use of sanctions by them.
While TB2 appears to have played a key role in recent years in conflicts in Libya, Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh, many experts have questioned how effective it would really be against a serious military force. However, footage released by the Ukrainian army after the Russian invasion shows TB2 attacking the Russian convoy heading to Kyiv.
Petros Kranias
Source: Capital
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