About 20% of weapons sent to Kiev end up on black market – Russia’s UN mission

Russian Politics & Diplomacy October 28, 2023, 2:22

Dmitry Polyansky said that some of the weapons supplied to Kiev are "in the darknet, which means that it is available to anyone"

UNITED NATIONS, October 27. /TASS/. About 20% of the weapons sent by the West to Kiev end up on the black market, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

"It has been recently reported that from 15% to 20% of all military goods received by Kiev end up on the gray and black markets within the next two weeks," he said.

Polyansky said some of the weapons supplied to Kiev surface "on the darknet, which means it’s available for anyone who wants it." The diplomat also said various news media regularly publish ample evidence of how these weapons go on sale.

Polyansky said these weapons are exported from Ukraine with the help of "intermediary organizations, some of them based in Europe" through Moldova and the Balkans. The weapons end up in the hands of "the main consumers: terrorist and anti-government groups in the Middle East, Central Africa and other regions of the world," he said.

The official added that there is plenty of evidence that Ukrainian officials "sell off humanitarian aid."

"Corruption has penetrated the entire Ukrainian society. Local media write about it openly, publishing more and more examples. The only ones that do not notice it or do not want to notice it are Kiev's Western handlers, and they do it for quite understandable reasons: Corruption is a contagious thing, and both sides need to be involved, so I would not be surprised if evidence of how Western officials and politicians are directly engaged in corrupt schemes involving Ukrainian weapons and humanitarian aid came to light very soon," Polyansky said.

The official also said the US seeks to capitalize on the conflict in Ukraine, as arms manufacturers had raised prices for Kiev.

"For example, last week the Pentagon and NATO said that arms manufacturers raised prices for the 155 mm artillery rounds, which are most used by Kiev now, from 2,000 to 8,000 euros per unit. The revenue of US arms producers has thus increased by 450%," he said. "It means that one shot now costs Ukraine as much as 20 Ukrainians earn per month on average, according to official statistics.".

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