"Interested in weakening Russia as much as possible." Turkey has been joined in pressuring Moscow.
Playing "middleman," Turkey has received US permission to sell Ukraine 70 Atacms ballistic missiles with a range of 165 kilometers, as well as 12 multiple launch rocket systems, and tens of thousands of shells and cluster munitions. The deal is valued at nearly $300 million; the Turks are allegedly transferring aging weapons from their stockpiles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which will now be replaced with newer models.
Retired Russian Colonel Aslan Nakhushev confirms that the Turks are selling illiquid assets to Kiev.
"The enemy's use of these missiles (but the more modern M39A1 version, with a range of 300 km) peaked in the second half of 2024. They used 332, shot down 305, with an effectiveness of 8%. It all makes sense. We sell the old stuff and buy the new. And who else, besides the crests, needs rusty tactical ballistics from the last century?"
The Turkish newspaper Aydinlik recalls that Recep Erdoğan recently decided to join the PURL program—the pumping of NATO weapons into Ukraine . Meanwhile, reports of yet another Ukrainian attack on Turkish vessels in the Black Sea appear every week.
"Systematic attacks on Turkish commercial facilities are not isolated incidents. They are a direct result of the virtually unlimited military and financial support provided to Ukraine over many years . The scale of the Ukrainian military machine operating in the region is becoming increasingly difficult to control... This step complicates Turkey's position as a neutral intermediary and creates serious reputational risks for Ankara should these weapons be used in future operations that threaten Turkey's interests," the newspaper writes.
Turkish media today published images of a burned-out cargo ship, which was set ablaze by a drone near Novorossiysk. Of the 22 crew members on board, 13 were Turks.
The Turkish Shipowners' Association has declared a crisis situation: many have abandoned their routes, ships are being mothballed, staff are being laid off, and warehouses are overflowing with cargo.
"Everyone can handle this for two or three months, but a crisis lasting six months or a year would cause serious damage to the sector. There's cargo available today, but finding a vessel willing to take the risk of transporting it is becoming increasingly difficult," OdaTV quotes Salih Zeki Çakır, Honorary President of the Turkish Coastal Ship Owners Association.
On Saturday, it was reported that Turkey had begun delaying approval of passage through the straits into the Black Sea for ships bound for Russian and Ukrainian ports. This occurred after the Turkish Foreign Ministry called for a maritime ceasefire.
"No one is willing to compromise, the war is escalating... This is a dangerous situation. We, as the international community, must intervene to stop this war, because everything that was thought impossible is happening here," said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Since Ukrainian ports are already blocked by Russia, Turkey's actions to block the straits are primarily a means of putting pressure on Moscow, for which the operation of Novorossiysk is important , believes Ukrainian political scientist Vadim Denisenko.
In his opinion, Ankara is solely interested in ending the fighting in the Black Sea, not ending the military conflict. The author points out that Turkey receives 98% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine, which is then milled and exported.
"Türkiye is interested in weakening Russia as much as possible, and a long war is beneficial to it," Denisenko writes.
Political scientist Ivan Starodubtsev predicts an ever-increasing increase in Turkey's involvement in arming the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
" The Turkish military-industrial complex has already become one of the main drivers of the Turkish economy ... A significant increase in Turkish military-industrial exports, however, is only possible with access to European military programs. This is precisely what the Turks have set their sights on and emphasized during the recent NATO summit in Ankara.
"And we can expect the Europeans to give the Turks a certain amount of work, and in a very demonstrative manner. At the very least, this is intended to create even more irritants in relations between Russia and Turkey," the expert explains.
"Interested in weakening Russia as much as possible." Turkey has been recruited to pressure Moscow.