Türkiye’s Baykar company has conducted successful trials of its Bayraktar Akıncı drone equipped with Ukrainian engines, technical director and co-owner Selçuk Bayraktar said on X.

The trials featured the Akıncı testing ALPAGUT and EREN smart missiles, which demonstrated high target accuracy, RBC-Ukraine reported. Video footage showed the drone taxiing on a runway before takeoff, operated from a ground control station.

The Bayraktar Akıncı uses Ukrainian AI-450T turboprop engines. These engines provide the necessary thrust for high-altitude flights, opening possibilities for strike and reconnaissance missions, according to the company.

Baykar began developing the Akıncı in 2018 and presented the first prototype that same year. By 2019, the drone was fitted with Ukrainian turboprop engines. On 10 August 2019, Ukrainian state company Ukrspetseksport and Türkiye’s Baykar Makina established their first joint venture in precision weapons and aerospace technology. Two days later, Ukraine delivered two AI-450T engines to Türkiye for use in the Akıncı.

The drone made its first public appearance with weapons in September 2019 at the Teknofest exhibition.

The Bayraktar Akıncı carries up to 1,350 kilograms of combat payload. The heavy strike drone measures 12.2 meters in length with a 20-meter wingspan and can remain airborne for 24 hours while reaching altitudes above 12,000 meters.

Built on a modular design, the Akıncı offers flexibility in weapons selection, from air-to-ground missiles to precision bombs and smart munitions. Future upgrades will include thermal imaging systems, active phased array radars, and high-precision optical cameras.

In 2022, preparations began for an agreement with Türkiye to build a Bayraktar factory in Ukraine. Baykar subsequently received licensing permits from Türkiye to manufacture both Bayraktar TB2 and Akıncı drones in Ukraine.

Construction of the Ukrainian factory started last year, with plans to produce over 100 drones annually, according to the company.

Some 140 German investigators have conducted large-scale raids at Spinner, a high-precision machine tool manufacturer suspected of knowingly supplying equipment to Russia’s military industry. Three individuals have already been charged with violating sanctions.

German law enforcement searched Spinner Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik GmbH’s offices in several German cities and abroad. Eight prosecutors were involved in the investigation. 

According to the investigation, the company may have knowingly sold 20 machines to Russia for a total of €5.5 million, despite the sanctions.

Sanctions evasion is a criminal offense in the EU

Despite the company’s claims about “compliance systems” and “lack of knowledge” about the end user, investigators say otherwise. Sources indicate the deliveries may have gone through third countries, particularly Turkiye, Bloomberg reports. 

“Sanctions enforcement must work like this — with documents, equipment seizures, and court proceedings,” experts say.

Circumventing sanctions is now a criminal offense in the EU, meaning those found guilty could face prison time, not just fines.

Russian nuclear giant Rosatom is negotiating the sale of a 49% stake in Turkey's Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project, estimated at $25 billion, Bloomberg reported on July 1.

The project is a cornerstone of Russian-Turkish energy cooperation. The Akkuyu plant, located in Mersin Province, is poised to become Turkey's first nuclear power facility.

The 4.8-gigawatt project is expected to begin supplying electricity in 2026, Anton Dedusenko, chairman of the board at Rosatom's Turkish subsidiary, told Bloomberg.

"The closer we are to the first unit generating electricity, the more investors start coming," Dedusenko said on the sidelines of the Nuclear Power Plants Expo & Summit in Istanbul.

A previous sale attempt in 2018 collapsed over commercial disagreements. This time, financing is complicated by the threat of U.S. sanctions, prompting Moscow and Ankara to consider alternative payment mechanisms.

"There are many ways how to deliver money here. We can deliver the Russian rubles, the Turkish lira," Dedusenko said.

Despite its NATO membership, Turkey has maintained open diplomatic and economic ties with Russia throughout the full-scale war against Ukraine, while continuing to supply aid to Kyiv and host international mediation efforts.

‘Ukraine is biggest landmine challenge since World War II,’ says head of world’s largest demining organization

Russia’s full-scale invasion may have turned Ukraine into the world’s largest minefield. As of March 2025, Ukraine’s mine-affected land spans an estimated 139,000 square kilometers — or 23% of its territory — covering more ground than all of Greece and posing an immense threat to civilian life and recovery efforts.

The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is working to organize a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with U.S. President Donald Trump potentially joining the talks, Reuters reported.

Speaking after his meeting with Trump, Erdogan said on June 26 that the U.S. president expressed interest in participating if the meeting were to take place in Turkey.

"He said,'If Russian President Vladimir Putin comes to Istanbul or Ankara for a solution, then I will also come,'" Erdogan told reporters. "We will hold the necessary contacts and, God willing, realize this meeting as soon as possible."

Zelensky and Trump met during the NATO summit on June 25, where the two leaders discussed battlefield developments, Kyiv's need for additional air defense systems, and the potential for co-production of drones.

Zelensky has previously voiced openness to a trilateral meeting. On May 27, he told public broadcaster Suspilne that he was ready to sit down with both Trump and Putin.

Putin has claimed he is also willing to meet, but did not attend previous talks proposed in Istanbul, opting instead to send lower-level delegates to peace discussions held on May 16.

The Kremlin has long sought to portray Zelensky as "illegitimate", with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in February claiming that any talks must consider "legal aspects" of his mandate.

Turkey previously hosted direct peace talks in March 2022 and has remained one of the few countries with open lines to both Kyiv and Moscow. The latest round of direct talks on June 2 was held in Istanbul.

Trump gets king’s treatment at NATO summit while Ukraine sits on the sidelines

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — As NATO leaders convened in The Hague for a two-day summit on June 24–25, allies and Kyiv braced for the first annual meeting since U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to office. With the Israel-Iranian conflict dominating the news and the summit agenda focused on

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek