Ukraine is said to have been granted dozens of armored personnel carriers (APCs) that are claimed to be produced by a prominent Turkish land vehicles manufacturer, video and social media posts suggested on Tuesday.
A video on Twitter showed several APCs, estimated to be 50 Kirpi I mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles produced by BMC in Ukraine.
The armored vehicles are thought to have been donated to the Ukrainian armed forces, given the fact that these early types of the vehicle are not produced anymore, as well as the fact that BMC does not have such newly-produced stock to export them.
Although the warning signs on the vehicles seen in the video circulated on social media were in English, the colors of the camouflage of the vehicles also suggested that those Kirpi MRAPs were initially produced for the Turkish army and given to the country currently at war with Russia.
Ukrainian sources claimed that the vehicles will be used by the Marine Infantry Brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
They also claimed that the vehicles will then be integrated with a Remote Controlled Weapon System (RCSS) to be sent to the Eastern Front, where the conflicts are continuing.
If 150 more BMC Kirpis would be sent to Ukraine, as claimed by open sources from the country, this would mark the second-biggest amount of heavy vehicles sent to Ukraine after Poland's 250 T-72 main battle tanks (MBTs).
Currently, many Turkish-made weapon systems are used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Latest technology radios produced by defense giant Aselsan are seen in many Ukrainian armored vehicles while images of the Aselsan-produced SERDAR Remote Controlled Weapon System integrated-MT-LB APCs belonging to the Ukrainian forces were also shared on social media.
The country has been actively using Turkish drone magnate Baykar’s Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), which Kyiv acquired before Russia invaded its neighbor in January.
Ukraine has bought more than 20 Bayraktar TB2 armed drones from Baykar in recent years and ordered a further 16 on Jan. 27. That batch was delivered in early March.