Ukraine issues update on proposed Turkish drone plant

Ukraine’s plan to host a manufacturing facility for Turkish drone producer Baykar is progressing and will be realized despite the conflict with Russia, the country’s ambassador to Ankara, Vasily Bondar, has told journalists.

A Ukrainian firm established by the Turkish defense contractor has already bought a land plot where the factory will be built, the diplomat said. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities are in the process of ratifying the necessary agreement with Turkey for it to operate, he told RBK Ukraine.

Baykar’s owners “are determined to see the project through because it was virtually their personal pledge to create a plant in Ukraine,” the official claimed. The firm is co-owned and co-run by the sons of its founder, Selcuk and Haluk Bayraktar. The former is the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.