Turkey would have delivered Kirpi MRAP 4x4 armored vehicles to Ukraine


According to a video published on the Telegram account of "Реальная Война | Украина" on August 9, 2022, Turkey may have delivered 4x4 armored vehicles called Kirpi to Ukraine. If the information is true, this delivery could compromise the good relations between Turkey and Russia. For the moment, there is no official information from the Turkish government.
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From the uniform, it would be a Ukrainian soldier riding in a Turkish Kirpi vehicle. (Picture source Screenshot Telegram video Реальная Война | Украина")


Indeed, Turkey has been actively involved in mediation efforts in the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian War due to its important relations with both countries. Ukraine has asked both Israel and Turkey to set up talks with Russia for negotiations. By the way, Turkey has provided Ukraine with Bayraktar drones since 2019, which played a significant role in deterring Russian advances in the early stages of the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian War, but has not imposed sanctions on Russia for the conflict.

According to the SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) arms trade database, Turkey had already delivered military equipment including 12 Bayraktar TB-2 drones in 2018, and Ukraine ordered another batch of 48 Bayraktar TB-2 drones in 2020, with a delivery planned for 2022.

At the beginning of the video published on Telegram, a soldier in a Ukrainian uniform can be seen getting into a Kipri vehicle parked in an undisclosed location. Citing information published on Wikipedia, Ukrainian forces have received Turkish BMC KİRPİ 4x4 MRAP vehicles, with the Ukrainian Marines having received 50- another 150 are due to arrive.

The Kirpi is a 4x4 armored vehicle in the MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) category that was designed and developed by the Turkish company BMC. The vehicle was unveiled for the first time to the public in 2010 during the defense exhibition Eurosatory in France. The Kirpi vehicle is already in service with Kosovo, Libya, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and now Ukraine.

The layout of the Kirpi MRAP is similar to a heavy truck with armor protection. The engine is located at the front, the crew member in the middle and the troop's compartment at the rear. The vehicle can carry a total of 13 military personnel including a driver, commander, gunner, and 10 infantrymen.

The Kirpi is based on a BMC 4x4 truck chassis model 235-16P. The vehicle is motorized with a Turbo diesel intercooler Cummins ISLe+ 350 Euro-III, coupled to an Allison 3000 transmission with 5 forward gears and 1 reverse. The Kirpi can be run at a maximum speed of 100 km/h with a maximum range of 800 km.

The roof of the Kiprpi MRAP can be fitted with a range of weapon stations as well as a remotely operated weapon station armed with a machine gun up to 12.7mm caliber or one 40mm automatic grenade launcher.