UNITED NATIONS, January 22. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that the government in Kiev has enlisted the help of Western wheeler-dealers to resell some of the West-provided weapons on the black market.
"In an effort to maximize profits from the conflict, decision makers in Kiev simply resell some of the West-supplied weapons on the black market. One can find plenty of such ads on the darknet. It is hard to imagine that this is happening without the knowledge and involvement of Western shrewd operators, because, as they say, scratch my back and will scratch yours," he said at a UN Security Council meeting dedicated to the situation in Ukraine.
Lavrov said US-made M16 rifles are one of the West-provided weapons that Kiev resells on the black market. "Anyone can buy [this rifle] for cryptocurrency through an online ad. Undoubtedly, terrorist groups take advantage of this situation," the minister said. "Weapons that fall into their hands spread across Africa, the Middle East and even Latin America, knocking the world’s already unstable regions off balance even more.
Lavrov said this "scandalous situation" has reached such proportions that it is no longer possible to keep quiet about it.
"Even the United States has had to officially recognize the problem, and a recent Pentagon report talks about the leak of weapons that were intended for the Ukrainian Armed Forces worth more than $1 billion. I am sure this is a modest estimate," the minister said. "Forty thousand pieces of weapons, including drones and grenade launchers, simply weren’t accounted for, as inventories were not kept.
"US inspectors, as I understand it, are now in Kiev to see how things are on the ground there. We wish them success," Lavrov said.