LONDON, October 7. /TASS/. The West refuses to acknowledge the threats being posed by flooding Ukraine with lethal weapons, the Russian embassy to London said in a comment on Friday, calling on Great Britain and its NATO allies to refrain from this reckless practice.
"It is known that corrupt Ukrainian officials have been channeling the weapons they have been receiving to the global black market," the embassy told TASS. "Western countries have so far refused to acknowledge the risk of high-tech weapons landing in the hands of radical nationalists, extremists and gangsters or being used by terrorists across the globe," Russian diplomats said. "Once again, we are calling on Great Britain and its NATO allies to refrain from the irresponsible militarization of Ukraine’s anti-popular regime, which may have far-reaching consequences for regional and global security," the embassy warned.
Russia has repeatedly drawn the international community’s attention to the evidence showing that "the Western-supplied weapons, including long-range artillery and rocket systems, have been used against civilian facilities and infrastructure," the embassy said. According to Russian diplomats, Western countries have been igniting the conflict "by encouraging Kiev to continue hostilities."
"NATO has been delivering large-scale supplies of military equipment to Ukraine in violation of the fundamental principles of export control and responsible behavior in the consideration of weapons transfers to conflict zones they have been promoting for years," the embassy emphasized. The diplomats pointed to what they said were blatant examples of numerous agreements aimed at minimizing risks in the sphere being ignored. "Among other things, Western countries disregard the provisions of the 2014 international Arms Trade Treaty, in essence, a pet project of Great Britain and other European states," they said.
Testing range
According to the Russian diplomats, suppliers of weapons to Kiev have been driven by the desire "to dispose of outdated armaments and to use Ukraine as a testing ground for the most up-to-date pieces," slamming the practice as extremely vicious. "Western military leaders have made it clear that they cannot trace the end users of weapons being supplied to the Ukrainians, including modern ones. According to American TV channel CBS, only 30-40% of weapons make it to the frontline. By the way, British law enforcement agencies, too, have acknowledged the risk of the 'leakage’ of weapons being supplied to Ukraine," they said.
British supplies
In September, the office of British Prime Minister Liz Truss said London would spend at least 2.3 billion pounds ($2.57 billion) on military assistance, including multiple rocket launchers, for Kiev in 2023. The same amount was donated in 2022. Experts say the kingdom will likely continue to help Ukraine in training its military and transfer to Kiev TOW missile systems, SAM weapons as well as armored vehicles, ammo, equipment and humanitarian assistance.