Ukraine has purchased almost 30 times as much defense industry equipment from Turkey in the first quarter as it did a year earlier, official data showed, as it prepared for and fought against the Russian invasion.
Turkey exported $59.1 million of such products to Ukraine in the period, compared with $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2021, data published by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) showed.
The assembly, an industry association, did not specifically identify the equipment.
Ukraine has bought more than 20 Bayraktar TB2 armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkish drone magnate Baykar in recent years. It is said to have ordered a further 16 on Jan. 27. That batch is reported to have been delivered in early March.
The battle-tested drones have already proven their capabilities in Libya, Syria and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Ankara and Kyiv have long-standing defense-cooperation ties.
A member of the NATO military alliance, Turkey shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both.
While it has criticized Russia's offensive, Ankara is trying to balance its close ties and has positioned itself as a neutral party trying to mediate.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly criticized Russia for invading Ukraine, but also made clear that he wants communication channels with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to remain open.
Since launching an invasion that has uprooted a quarter of Ukraine’s population, Russia has failed to capture a single major city. Moscow describes its actions as a "special military operation."
Turkey’s total first-quarter defense exports jumped nearly 50% year-over-year, Defense Industries Presidency (SSB) Chair Ismail Demir said on Tuesday.
"Our defense and aviation sector exported $961 million in the first 3 months of the year, an increase of 48.6% compared to the same period last year ... I emphasize once again that we need to work harder for our goals," Demir said on Twitter.
In 2021 Turkey exported more than $3.2 billion in defense products, an increase of 41.5% compared with 2020.