06/07/2026
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🟩 TURKEY APPEARS TO BE MOVING CLOSER TO UKRAINE
An opinion piece in The New York Times argues that Turkey is increasingly helping Ukraine strengthen its ties across the Middle East while simultaneously expanding Ankara’s own influence in the region following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria.
For much of the war, Turkey occupied a unique position. As a NATO member, it supplied Ukraine with Bayraktar drones, supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and helped facilitate grain export agreements. At the same time, it maintained dialogue and economic ties with Moscow, allowing Ankara to position itself as a mediator between the two sides.
According to the analysis, that balancing act may be gradually shifting.
Turkey’s interests increasingly align with limiting Russian influence in the Black Sea, supporting regional stability, and expanding its own diplomatic and economic footprint across the Middle East and the Caucasus. Meanwhile, Ukraine and Turkey continue deepening cooperation in defense production, drone technology, maritime security, and trade.
The change is unlikely to be dramatic or immediate.
Turkey remains a country that carefully protects its strategic flexibility and is unlikely to completely abandon relations with Moscow.
But the broader trend is worth watching.
The question may no longer be whether Turkey sits between Russia and Ukraine.
The question is whether that middle ground is slowly moving closer to Kyiv.
If so, it would represent another strategic challenge for the Kremlin and another sign that Russia’s influence around the Black Sea is facing increasing pressure from multiple directions.