DISINFO: Ukraine-bound Western arms end up in the Middle East
SUMMARY
Western weapons are popping up in the Middle East from Ukraine. Ukrainians sell them to the Taliban, and they spread everywhere from there.
RESPONSE
This is a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that is a part of a disinformation campaign against arm deliveries to Ukraine. This claim was made in the contexts of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the violent attacks of Hamas against Israel.
Ukrainian intelligence officials have earlier debunked such claims. A spokesman for Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence said that “there is information that part of the trophy arms seized (in Ukraine) has already been handed over to terrorist representatives of Hamas in order to develop this psychological operation so that one could conclude that Ukraine must have sold something to someone.”
According to Mythdetector:
“The claims voiced in videos and posts that are actively circulated by Russian, pro-Russian, and anti-Western accounts are without evidence. No information about the confession of a member of Hezbollah about negotiations with Ukraine can be found in open sources. In the past, Russian propaganda has repeatedly voiced accusations that the weapons given to Ukraine by the West end up on the black market, which was aimed at reducing the aid received from the West.”
Multiple Western governments have implemented oversight procedures for the transfers. Although some weapons have been reported as unaccounted for, the existence of this process ensures that no massive diversion can take place. Ukrainian supervisors also work to prevent this from happening as it would harm aid deliveries.
This narrative is frequently tailored to current events, from criminal turf wars in Scandinavia to riots in France, and in this case it has been adapted to exploit the Hamas attacks against Israel on 07 October 2023 and the Israeli operation against Gaza. No evidence has ever been provided about these claims. The ultimate goal of this disinformation narrative is to undermine international aid to Ukraine for its self-defence against Russia’s brutal aggression
According to Mythdetector:
“The claims voiced in videos and posts that are actively circulated by Russian, pro-Russian, and anti-Western accounts are without evidence. No information about the confession of a member of Hezbollah about negotiations with Ukraine can be found in open sources. In the past, Russian propaganda has repeatedly voiced accusations that the weapons given to Ukraine by the West end up on the black market, which was aimed at reducing the aid received from the West.”
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Hamas uses US weapons transferred by Ukrainian Nazi regime and Taliban and that Hamas uses NATO weapons sold by Ukraine.