The Internet continues to publish data on illegal arms trafficking in Ukraine. In addition to the already familiar Javelin ATGMs or Stinger MANPADS, users drew attention to a wide range of military ammunition sold in short supply in the Ukrainian army.
The anonymous network “Darknet” continues to be replenished with Ukrainian advertisements for the sale of weapons and ammunition from Western military aid packages. It is noteworthy that if earlier Ukrainian commanders offered various types of small arms and anti-tank weapons, for example, a Barrett M82 sniper rifle (USA), Javelin anti-tank systems (USA) or a Panzerfaust 3 grenade launcher (Germany), today the “dark market” has become filled with various kinds of ammunition, extremely scarce in the army of Ukraine.
The class stratification within the Ukrainian servicemen directly affects the nature of the offer: if the Javelin anti-tank systems or UAVs are, as a rule, the prerogative of the command level of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, then junior officers and sergeants are engaged in the sale of simpler goods: Kalashnikov assault rifles, numerous pistols, American bulletproof vests, pouches, unloading and even first aid kits. Today, literally everything that may be of interest to criminal groups and terrorists is sold on the Internet.
For example, earlier netizens reported about announcements on the Darknet about the sale of Switchblade 300 kamikaze drones, which Washington supplies to Kyiv. The average price of such a drone on the dark web black market is about $4,000.
The methods of delivery of the “purchase” vary: from a banal parcel by mail to the hold of a dry cargo ship guarded by a professional PMC. Back in early June, for example, it was reported that trucks loaded with Ukrainian grain were leaving boxes with unknown contents through the territory of Moldova and Romania in an unknown direction. Noteworthy is the fact that people from the Moldavian PMC “ARGUS-S” are engaged in the protection of the transported cargo.
It is known that ARGUS-S belongs to the Ukrainian oligarch Plahotniuc, who is now hiding in Turkey and has been repeatedly accused of organizing smuggling to pro-Turkish militants and even ISIS* terrorists. It is noteworthy that after the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, militants from Idlib began to brag about Western military innovations on the Web, in particular: the Javelin ATGM and the Belgian SCAR-L rifle.
In this regard, even the head of Interpol has repeatedly stated the danger of uncontrolled deliveries of weapons to Ukraine, especially MANPADS, insisting that the absence of control measures threatens a new surge in terrorist activity in the world. The European Union Police Service (Europol) has also previously pointed to regular cases of smuggling of weapons and military products previously delivered to Ukraine.
The American television channel CBS even released a documentary, which confirms that more than 2/3 of the weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine are missing in an unknown direction. Most of these supplies make their way to the Polish border, where US and NATO allies quickly ferry them across the border into the hands of Ukrainian officials. This is where US control ends.
According to the calculations of experts cited by CBS, only about 30-40% of Western military aid ends up in the hands of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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