President handed over Bayraktar TB2 UAVs and over 420 additional items of military equipment and armament to the AFU in Khmelnytskyi region
"From 2014, more than 23,000 weaponry samples and military equipment were delivered to the troops," the President said.
President Petro Poroshenko handed over Bayraktar TB2 UAVs and over 420 additional items of military equipment and armament to the Ukrainian troops in Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytskyi region.
The Head of State reminded that at the beginning of the anti-terrorist operation, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were mostly equipped with Soviet weapons and military equipment, which were technically and morally obsolete. “Despite the existing developments at that time, because of the lack of financing, plundering, transfer of military objects by dealmakers, the combat capability of the army was weakened and the new equipment was not procured. In the past years, the budget of the defense ministry was called the “budget of using up”, because the allocated resource was barely enough to pay money to our troops,” the President stressed.
“Now the situation is radically different. Now our priority is a missile program, the creation of high-precision missiles of increased radius of action. It has already been said in recent days that Russia’s ruining of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty removes a number of restrictions for us. Now, we will be able to release such missiles, which will sharply increase the price paid by the aggressor for his reckless actions in the event of further escalation of aggression. Now the territory of the aggressor will also become vulnerable,” Petro Poroshenko said.
“From 2014, more than 23,000 weaponry samples and military equipment were delivered to the troops,” the President said.
The President emphasized: “Currently, priority areas for the provision of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are the completion of the development of new and upgraded weapons and their serial production, in particular the missile complexes “Vilkha-M” and “Neptune”; 155-millimeter artillery systems “Bogdan” developed in full accordance with NATO standards; MLRS “Verba-1”; unmanned reconnaissance and assault complex “Sokil”.
The Head of State stressed that the systematic measures of reforming the Armed Forces, the security sector, the gradual achievement of the NATO standards by the defense forces, the planned provision of new and upgraded weapons and military equipment had significantly expanded the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Today, Ukraine has an army that can protect our state, which is the guarantor and the basis of sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of our state,” the President said.
The President handed over to the Armed Forces MiG-29MU1 fighter aircraft, Mi-8MT multi-purpose helicopters, An-26Sh aircraft, T-64BV tanks, BRDM-2L1 armored reconnaissance patrol cars, BTR-3DA armored personnel carriers, “Osa” armored personnel carriers, radar stations and anti-aircraft missile systems, 2C1 “Gvozdyka” self-propelled artillery units and repair shops for armored vehicles.
Also, for the first time, the President handed over Bayraktar TB2 – a combat UAV capable of staying aloft for 24 hours with a range of action up to 150 km. It is equipped with modern high-precision missiles for the destruction of armored vehicles, engineering constructions and fortifications, as well as naval targets.
The Head of State also attended the first tests of Bayraktar TB2. He noted that the tests were successful: “I congratulate the Armed Forces of Ukraine on this. I congratulate our partners on this. I congratulate the Ukrainian people on this. Today we have a new weaponry”. The President added that the Ukrainian troops now have new opportunities and this contributes to the strengthening of the state’s defense capability.
