VIENNA, October 13. /TASS/. Weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine may eventually end up in the hands of terrorists in various parts of the world through the black market, Russian Ambassador to Austria Dmitry Lyubinsky said.
"Weapons destined for Ukraine are entering the black market en masse with state approval and could end up in the hands of terrorists and criminals in various parts of the world," Lyubinsky said in his article ‘Where the Common Sense is in Europe’ published on Thursday on the official website of Austria’s Exxpress.
"There are multiple reports coming in, including from Austria, about police confiscating illegal arms of ‘Ukrainian origin.’ There is a risk of a repeat of the Yugoslavia wars, when the whole of Europe was flooded with firearms originating from the Western Balkans," the high-ranking diplomat noted.
According to Lyubinsky, the EU "uses every opportunity to encourage the continuation of hostilities in the region. In this context, the diplomat mentioned Brussels' intention to create an EU training mission for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"If this endeavor is realized, the EU will be fully embroiled in the conflict," Lubinsky noted. "If common sense does not return to European politics, the consequences could be irreversible," the ambassador said.
Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine
The situation along the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. At that time, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the worst wave of bombardments by the Ukrainian military, which damaged civilian infrastructure and caused civilian casualties.
On February 21, President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow would recognize the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with their leaders. Moscow recognized the Donbass republic in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.
Russian President Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republic for assistance he had decided to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.
The DPR and the LPR launched an operation to liberate their territories under Kiev’s control.