Turkey is set to establish military cooperation with Ukraine, with whom it aligned during Russia's annexation of Crimea. To this end, Turkey's leading defense systems producer, ASELSAN, held a meeting with Ukraine's state-owned military vehicles manufacturer Ukroboronprom. According to a statement released by Ukroboronprom, ASELSAN will modernize Ukrainian armored vehicles, while Kievskiy Bronetankoviy Zavod, a subsidiary of Ukroboronprom specializing in armored tanks, is close to cooperation with ASELSAN on the use of electro-optical systems. Ukrainian news agency Interfax reported Ukroboronprom's announcement that the cooperation will first modernize Ukrainian tanks, and may cover artillery pieces and personnel carriers in the future. Founded after the disintegration of the Soviet Union with the objective of developing Ukraine's own defense industry, Ukroboronprom achieved a turnover of more than $6.9 billion last year. The company, which produces aerial, marine and ground military vehicles and equipment, employs more than 60,000 staff. According to Kiev media, this cooperation between Turkey and Ukraine was perceived as a revenge move for Russian President Vladimir Putin's initiation of economic embargoes on Turkey. The political tension between Turkey and Russia emerged when a Russian fighter jet was downed by the Turkish Armed Forces after violating Turkish airspace near the Turkish-Syrian border on Nov. 24. Following the incident, the Kremlin issued a raft of harsh measures against Turkish companies and Turkish-made goods.
