Ukraine official poses with creator of Bayraktar drones, calling them 'super-weapons' for destroying so many Russian tanks

• A Ukrainian official took a photo with the maker of Bayraktar drones, calling them "super-weapons."
• Mykhailo Podolyak was in Istanbul for peace talks with Russia that took place Tuesday.

A top Ukraine official posted a selfie with the creator of Bayraktar drones, expressing his gratitude for the "super-weapons" that Ukraine has credited with blasting apart columns of Russian tanks.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, posted the photograph to Twitter on Tuesday showing him with Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of Turkish company Baykar.

Podolyak wrote that Russian tanks were "burning flawlessly" thanks to the weapon. "And they'll continue to burn, as Bayraktars ideally fulfill any task - imperceptibly, frighteningly, destructively.

"I'll always be grateful to the author & father of super-weapons @haluk."

—Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 29, 2022

Podolyak posted the image from Istanbul where he was part of peace talks with Russia that took place on Tuesday.

Podolyak deleted an earlier version of the tweet that had identical wording but showed him and Bayraktar in a bar, rather than the beachfront setting in the above tweet.

According to Forbes, Ukraine bought at least 21 Bayraktar TB2 armed drones prior to the war's outbreak. The country's defense ministry claimed to have received more of them at the beginning of March.

The defense of Ukraine has shown the drones' capability in their highest-stakes conflict yet. Ukrainian authorities have touted them as a linchpin of the country's defense against Russian military targets, as in these videos posted to Facebook in mid-March:

The drones can reach altitudes of 25,000 feet and fly for 27 continuous hours, according to their manufacturer. They can be operated remotely from up to 185 miles away, with each one able to carry four laser-guided bombs or rockets.

Videos posted to social media by Ukraine authorities appear to show the devastating effect of the drones against Russia's slow-moving military columns.

Through these apparent successes, the weapon has also become central to Ukrainian propaganda efforts, as Insider's Kieran Corcoran reported.

In March, the Ministry of Defense commissioned a popular song in praise of the weapon, which has been widely shared. On Monday, the day of the 94th Academy Awards, the Ukrainian MoD tweeted the song's video, awarding it an "Oscar:"

—Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 28, 2022

A raft of apparent Bayraktar videos were released on official Ukrainian military channels in mid-March, each purporting to show the precision targeting of Russian tanks and military infrastructure.