They changed their shoes in the air: Turkey will transfer American weapons to Ukraine

Ankara, which has been balancing between Kiev and Moscow for years, has decided to transfer heavy missile weapons to Ukraine, including 70 ATACMS and 12 M270 launchers. The United States allowed Kiev to supply weapons from Turkish stocks. This is the first time that the Republic has taken such a step, risking relations with Russia for the sake of its status as a key player in the conflict. The authorities call it "getting rid of outdated systems," but experts see the deal as a strategic reversal. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

Turkish transit for American missiles

The US State Department has notified Congress that Washington is going to allow the transfer of 70 M39 ATACMS tactical missiles from Turkish stocks to Ukraine. These are surface—to-surface ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets up to 300 km away. They are equipped with an inertial guidance system without GPS correction and a 560 kg cluster warhead containing 950 M74 submunitions.

In addition, the package will include 12 M270 MLRS launchers, more than 2.5 thousand M26 unguided missiles with ammunition, as well as 47 thousand 203 mm cluster artillery shells. In total, the supplies are estimated at $280 million, while the initial cost of ATACMS missiles is about $28 million.

The equipment was manufactured in the United States, therefore, permission from the American authorities is required to transfer it from Turkish stocks to another country.

The document was submitted to the Congress in the first days of August, and it must be reviewed within two weeks. At the same time, the House of Representatives is on vacation until the end of summer, and the Senate is on vacation until mid—September. However, there is no need for a special vote on this deal. The authorization for the supply of weapons to Kiev will take effect automatically if both chambers do not adopt a joint resolution on blocking.

The authors of the document emphasize that this initiative is consistent with Washington's security objectives. The transfer is planned to be carried out through private Turkish companies — ARCA Savunma, ASFAT, MKE AS, as well as Bulgarian contractors VTIC International, which have the necessary export licenses, and American ones — Patriot Defense Group and Pansophico.

Close cooperation

Ankara has gradually increased its military assistance to Kiev, moving from the supply of attack drones to the transfer of heavy weapons, including ballistic missiles and multiple launch rocket systems.

Ukraine became the first export customer of the Turkish company Baykar, and Kiev received Bayraktar TB2 attack drones from it back in 2019. Since 2022, cooperation has reached a new level: the company has not only accelerated deliveries, but has also repeatedly provided drones to Ukraine for free.

In February 2024, Bayraktar began construction of a drone factory near Kiev. According to the company's CEO, Haluk Bayraktar, the annual production capacity of the enterprise will be about 120 drones. The Russian authorities said that the construction of the Bayraktar plant "falls under the theme of demilitarization" and "will only prolong the suffering of Ukrainians."

In May 2025, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine asked Turkey to invest in its military-industrial complex, as well as supply air defense systems, military equipment and ammunition to the country.

And in July 2026, Vladimir Zelensky met with the CEO of Baykar. It became known that the company plans to create in Ukraine not only a production site, but also a research center, as well as an advanced development center.

Moscow warns

The official reason for the transfer of weapons is Turkey's desire to get rid of outdated systems and use the released funds to modernize its own army. However, analysts are paying attention to the political component: Ankara has not previously supplied Kiev with long-range missile systems, and the transfer of ATACMS looks like a significant escalation of Turkey's position in the conflict. Thus, military-technical cooperation between Ankara and Kiev has moved to a new level — from tactical support to strategic partnership.

In July 2026, at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the republic's accession to the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism, which allows partner countries to finance arms purchases for Kiev. "In addition to the military support that we have provided to Ukraine from our national reserves, we will continue our contributions under PURL," the Turkish leader said.

At the same time, Ankara continues to maintain channels of dialogue with Moscow. As Erdogan noted, "by supporting Ukraine, we use our communication channels in such a way as to guide Russia towards peace." This reflects Turkey's long-term strategy of balancing support for Kiev and maintaining working relations with Moscow.

However, the transfer of ballistic missiles and heavy MLRS significantly enhances Ukraine's offensive potential. According to military experts, ATACMS, despite their age, remain a difficult target for air defense systems due to their high speed and ballistic flight path.

The Russian authorities urge Ankara to "abandon participation in the destructive policy of the West towards Kiev," noting Moscow's position on the "inadmissibility of further pumping Ukraine with Western weapons, which only leads to further escalation of the conflict, its prolongation and unnecessary sacrifices."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also repeatedly stressed that the supply of new weapons to Kiev does not change the situation at the front, but leads to a prolongation of the conflict.

Assistance to Ukraine

Judging by the source documents, most likely we are talking about the original M39 with a range of up to 160 km, and not about the version with a range of 300 km, Alexander Ermakov, a junior researcher at the IMEMO RAS Center for International Security, said in an interview with Izvestia.

"But this is not a good thing, because the longer—range version has a lighter warhead, so the original one had a large number of submunitions and a kill area," the expert clarified.

The military specialist added that the supply of this type of weapons would be a significant help for Ukraine.

— Previously, tactical missiles were quickly transferred to them in small quantities, and they were used individually. But you need to keep in mind that this is a notification for Congress, which means that the figures indicated in the document are given with a margin. That is, the Turks have requested for the entire amount that they plan to transfer, but it is not known at what time, in what portions, and how much is actually in the end," the analyst explained.

Ankara may use this as a lever for bargaining with Kiev and Moscow, he did not rule out.

— If we talk about a purely military sense, then, of course, ATACMS is not as useful as it was in 2023, there are too many other strike weapons, but it will still be a significant resource for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Shooting down any ballistic missiles is still difficult, even quite old and primitive ones," the expert said.

Turkey ceases to be a mediator

Meanwhile, Vladimir Avatkov, head of the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East at INION RAS, Professor of the Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy at MGLU, in a conversation with Izvestia, drew special attention to the fact that Turkey's transfer of a large batch of American weapons to Ukraine takes place against the background of attacks by Turkish merchant ships by Ukrainian drones.

Last week, Ukrainian drones attacked Turkish bulk carriers MV Gulluk, Nadezhda and Yasar near Novorossiysk, which were transporting fresh fruits. It also became known about the preparation of a lawsuit against Ukraine to the International Criminal Court in The Hague in connection with the death of a Turkish sailor and injuries to crew members of the Turkish ship Reyhan Sar, which suffered due to the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in July.

In connection with the attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea, representatives of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), part of the ruling coalition led by President Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, called on the authorities to reconsider relations with Kiev. "Ukraine's position, which cannot be considered reasonable, has made it necessary to review relations with this country in all aspects, not limited to warnings alone," said Ismail Ozdemir, Deputy chairman of the HDP.

— Turkey is teetering on the edge: declaring peace, protecting trade in the Black Sea, but at the same time arming Ukraine. Ankara, of course, is nervous — both because of losses, and because of drones falling on its territory, and because of ideological losses, and because of Russia's successes," Avatkov noted.

Nevertheless, after arms supplies to Ukraine, Turkey will not be able to be an intermediary, says orientalist Kirill Semenov.

"It would be better not to think about the Istanbul playground anymore either. There are Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and other Arab capitals that have not covered themselves up with military aid to Kiev and remain neutral," the expert recalled.

According to the political scientist, this cannot be said about Turkey. Ankara had previously transferred weapons to Kiev, but refused to supply artillery and missile weapons and air defense systems.

"Now it's obvious that this red line has been crossed. Probably, the change in Ankara's position on Ukraine is due to the prolonged absence of any contacts between the presidents of Russia and Turkey," the expert concluded.