DISINFO: Weapons sent to Ukraine end up in the hands of terrorists in Africa, Latin America and Middle East
SUMMARY
Weapons originating from Ukraine end up in the hands of terrorists and criminal groups in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. The high level of corruption in the Ukrainian government and serious violations in the accounting of weapons arriving from Western countries increase their flow to black markets. During the US Armed Forces' special operation in Syria against Daesh, VZ.58 assault rifles and VZ.61 Scorpion machine guns from the Czech Republic and their ammunition were seized. A preliminary examination of the markings revealed that the weapons had been supplied free of charge to the Armed Forces of Ukraine by the Czech Ministry of Defense in March 2023.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about corrupt Ukraine reselling Western weapons to illicit actors. This is a baseless claim that Russian officials have been regularly making since the beginning of the war with the goal of undermining international support for Ukraine’s self-defence.
This narrative is frequently tailored to current events, from criminal turf wars in Scandinavia to riots in France to the Hamas attacks against Israel on 7 October 2023 to drug cartel wars in Mexico. Russia’s disinformation operation has included forged BBC and Bellingcat videos about Ukraine sending weapons to Hamas, and fake ads on the Dark Web, amongst others.
There is no public record of VZ.58 and VZ.61 Skorpion weapons found on a US raid against Daesh in Syria, but even if this happened to be true, this does not prove that they came from Ukraine. These weapons have been acquired by jihadist militants in the black market in the past, years before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The VZ.61 Skorpion could easily be found in the Middle East for many decades. The allegation about the weapons markings is unsubstantiated. Allegations made by Russian institutions, as in this case cannot be considered as evidence, given their proven history of making unsubstantiated claims based on faked or non-existent proof, for example about US biolaboratories in Ukraine or the presence of French combat troops on the Ukrainian frontlines.
While there have been some instances of organised rings diverting Western weapons to the black market, the allegation appears to be greatly exaggerated and has been debunked by multiple fact-checkers. 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.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Ukraine sells weapons to the Middle East, that terrorist groups around the world feed on Western weapons sent to Ukraine, that Western weapons are being sold by Ukrainians on the darknet, that the Pentagon proved that Ukraine is stealing Western weapons, that Western weapons for Kyiv go to Islamic terrorists and drug cartels, or that weapons supplied to Kyiv are distributed among criminal groups in Europe.