Defense Ministry to buy Polish drones for ATO forces

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry will purchase Polish drones and Ukrainian helicopters for the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) forces, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksandr Turchynov has said.

"When visiting the exhibition [11th Arms and Security exhibition] we have already agreed on the immediate purchase of several of these helicopters for the National Guard. The Defense Ministry is also buying these helicopters along with armaments," he told reporters when attending the exhibition in Kyiv on Wednesday.

In addition, according to Turchynov, the Ukrainian army and the police showed an interest in unmanned aerial vehicles.

"It's very important to us, and our Polish colleagues want to supply these products to Ukraine," he said.

He said that Polish drones have very serious specifications, in particular, they can lift up to 15 kilograms of cargo, including arms.

Turchynov noted that one of the problems in the area of the anti-terrorist operation for the Ukrainian military was to find targets, locate and neutralize them.

"There are several systems here that will leave for the ATO zone straight from the exhibition and will help fully realize the drones that are used by the Russian Armed Forces for precision-guided fire on our positions," he said, adding that these products will be tested in the ATO zone.