In Ukraine war, Russia gets bloody nose from deadly Bayraktar TB2 drones from Turkey

tech.hindustantimes.com:

The grainy aerial images of a destroyed Russian tank and missile batteries were, according to Ukraine’s air force, the latest evidence of the damage inflicted by its fleet of Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones on Vladimir Putin’s invading army.

In an English-language tweet Tuesday, Ukraine lauded the attack as “the jewelry work of Bayraktar TB2 crews,” saying it took place in the previous 24 hours at an undisclosed location. Since fighting started last week, Ukrainian claims have credited the pilotless aircraft with destroying dozens of Russian armored vehicles, missile systems and trucks.

While it’s impossible to confirm a role for the drones in all those losses, it wouldn’t be the first time planes made by Turkey’s Baykar had a significant impact on battlefields where Moscow maintained an interest. Relatively cheap to make and deploy, the aircraft have in recent years helped swing conflicts in places as far afield as Azerbaijan and Libya in favor of Turkish allies. 

Now they are prized items in the budding relationship that’s made Turkey one of Kyiv’s most important backers. In the process, the planes are straining ties between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Putin, a relationship that has consequences for Turkey’s economy, defense ties and regional flashpoints including Syria’s war.

Information available from open-source intelligence appears to confirm Feb. 26 drone strikes on a Russian BUK surface-to-air missile system and a supply train, said Arda Mevlutoglu, an independent Turkish aviation expert based in Ankara. Satellite images showed an explosion at the specific location where the Ukrainian military claimed to have targeted the transport train, he said.

“Ukraine appears to be successfully using surviving