ANKARA

Ukraine’s ambassador to Türkiye on Wednesday dismissed claims that Ankara was sending cluster bombs to Ukraine as unfounded rumors and propaganda warfare.

Asked about an article “Turkey Is Sending Cold War-Era Cluster Bombs to Ukraine” in US Foreign Policy magazine, Vasyl Bodnar told Anadolu that international law prohibits cluster bombs and ammunition, and that Kyiv complies with international rules in its war to hold back Russia.

Noting that the article did not cite any official sources but instead relied on “some kind of rumors,” Bodnar said that he believed the allegation was part of a “Russian propaganda machine” against both Türkiye and Ukraine.

“I fully deny it, it is not true,” he said. “The information was specifically constructed as psychological information warfare weapons, just to undermine the relationship between Ukraine and Türkiye and try to create the wrong image of Ukraine and Türkiye.”

Prisoner exchanges

Bodnar also mentioned a Tuesday meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian human rights commissioners, Dmitro Lubinets and Tatyana Moskalkova, in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Noting that Lubinets met separately with Moskalkova and Türkiye’s Chief Ombudsman Seref Malkoc during talks organized by Türkiye's Ombudsman Institution, Bodnar said this was the first time the Ukrainian and Russian counterparts met each other.

Noting that their talks are set to continue on Wednesday, the Ukrainian envoy said that there were several issues that need to be discussed and the parties talked about issues such as the rights of civilians, prisoner exchanges, and the situation of the wounded.

‘Türkiye could play a considerable role in this platform’

Saying Ukraine is “grateful to Türkiye for hosting these talks,” Bodnar added: “We believe that Türkiye could play a considerable role in this process. Because still, despite the communications, there is not full trust (between Moscow and Kyiv).”

“So Türkiye here is a trusted partner for Ukraine and has good communication with Russia. So we believe that Türkiye could play a considerable role in this platform,” he added.

Bodnar also said that some results could be obtained in the future, such as the creation of working groups to deal with exchanges of prisoners or civilians after the talks in Ankara.

The Ukrainian envoy also accused the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is supposed to carry out these processes, of “not fulfilling all their duties which are necessary.”