Arms Scandal In Ukraine ?

[Khandro]

I have just been told that German TV is announcing that large quantities of weapons & food being sent to Ukraine have been sold on for profit, politicians and even judges have been involved & arrested.

Can anyone confirm this to be true?

[Old_Geezer]

First I've heard of it. If proved true many folk are likely looking at a death penalty I reckon.

[Khandro]

There was concern expressed in last month's Washington Post;
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/05/14/ukraine-weapons-trafficking/

[Gromit]

There are plenty of reference to this if you do a search of the internet. But none from any reliable sources. Sounds like disinformation put out from Saint Petersburg trolling farms.

[bookbinder]

https://www.herald.co.zw/ukraine-arms-sold-on-black-market/

[Gromit]

A claim made by a Russian delegate at an Arms Fair in Austria. So it must be 100% true ;-)

Seriously, when armies are beaten or if they are forced to retreat, then weaponry gets left behind. I am sure the victors mop up any valuables and sell them on the dark net.
I doubt supplies are being stolen BEFORE it gets to the war zone.

[ichkeria]

“A senior russian diplomat claimed …”

Lol: at which point no one interested in fact reads any further,
“Believe nothing in this life until the Kremlin denies it” as the saying goes.

German TV however might have something

[Khandro]

I'd better withdraw what I said previously. It isn't from TV -my mistake- it's from a German newspaper article & it isn't 'breaking news' it seems that this has been going on though for some time, & it's happening via the 'dark web'.

I don't know if arrests have yet been made. Apologies.

[Gromit]

In the 1990s truckloads of weapons went to Chechen from all over the world. Those weapons are still turning up in Europe in the hands of organised criminals.
No doubt once this conflict is over, the weapons will be still be circulating in a couple of decades time.

[ichkeria]

Except in this case the weapons on the Ukraine side are going from government to government. Not via criminals and arms dealers.
And are getting used up.

[Khandro]

I now have the article before me and the headline reads; An Kiew gelieferte Waffen im Darknet angeboten
which translates as, Weapons supplied to Kiev offered on the Darknet.
It goes on to incriminate various people including a Ukrainian judge.

[Gromit]

// Weapons delivered to Kyiv offered on dark web
The Israeli cyber security service provider KELA reports brisk online trading

Weapons of war can get into the hands of terrorists or serious criminals. This is shown not least by the experiences from the conflicts in the Balkans as well as in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. And now the first offers have appeared on the dark web, i.e. the not so easily accessible “dark” part of the internet, relating to war equipment that the West is currently supplying to Ukraine. The relevant information came from the Israeli cyber security service provider KELA and was picked up by various media outlets during the course of this month.

According to KELA's research, several "markets" within the dark web offer weapons for sale that are said to come from Ukrainian stocks. One of them is "Thief", which has nine offers from three potential sellers. The first is called "Weapons Ukraine" and has rifles, hand grenades, and bulletproof vests on its list, ranging in price from $1,100 to $3,600. According to Weapons Ukraine, 32 deals have already been concluded. The second supplier called "Big Discounts on Weapons", which is said to be located directly in Kyiv, promises to deliver US FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missiles at a price of $30,000 each. And the product range of the third supplier "Black Market Guns" includes Swedish NLAW anti-tank missiles for $15,000 each and US-American Kamikaze drones of the type AeroVironment Switchblade (jump knife) for $7000. //

Not sure that tells us anything we haven’t guessed already. The weapons are more likely to have been captured by Russian soldiers, and sold for personal gain on the dark web.

[ichkeria]

“Weapons of war can get into the hands of terrorists or serious criminals”

Erm, well I think we know that.
They’ve been in the hands of terrorists and serious criminals since putin took power in his kgb coup

[Gromit]

The article does not incriminate a Ukrainian Judge. You have got that information from the Kremlin.
The article does say…
// a disinformation campaign initiated by the Russian secret service is behind it, the aim of which is to prevent the West from further arms deliveries to Ukraine. Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon apparently claimed the latter in an interview with Fox Business. //

Which is what we worked out for ourselves earlier.

[Gromit]

Khandro’s article is here if anyone wants to run it through Google Translate like I did.

https://paz.de/artikel/an-kiew-gelieferte-waffen-im-darknet-angeboten-a7049.html

[douglas9401]

"The weapons are more likely to have been captured by Russian soldiers, and sold for personal gain on the dark web."

Is the possibility of Ukranian involvement to be dismissed so casually?
Wouldn't they want to know the truth, even if it hurt?

[Gromit]

The Pentagon think it more likely that the story is untrue, and has been made up by the Russians.

Why would the UK Government knowingly supply weapons for criminals to sell on the dark web ?

[Gromit]

// Fox News spoke to a spokesperson from the National Security Council. She stated that although the U.S. government is serious in its allegations of weapons diversion, this source doesn’t seem credible. This is because it is being amplified by sources that have been known to disseminate pro-Russian disinformation. ” //

https://modernpatriots.com/us-officials-push-back-on-reports-of-dark-web-javelin-missiles

[ichkeria]

It’s complete nonsense .

The irony of the Kremlin gangsters and gun runners framing stories about illegal weapons deals is stunning
It’s precisely what they do themselves

[Gromit]

// a spokesperson from the National Security Council stated…This is because it is being amplified by sources that have been known to disseminate pro-Russian disinformation. //

They are onto you Khandro ;-)