Russia Says Western Aid Weapons To Ukraine Are Causing An Increase In Illegal Arms Trade

Illustration of arms aid for Ukraine. (Twitter/@UAWeapons)

JAKARTA - The uncontrollable 'flood' of Western weapons in Kyiv has resulted in a massive increase in black market arms sales, taking advantage of the blacknet and darknet, Russian Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Ivan Nechayev said Thursday.

Western countries led by the United States provide assistance with various types of weapons for Ukraine, to deal with the Russian invasion.

"The uncontrolled flood of weapons in Kyiv has led to an increase in illegal arms trade on the black market, including the darknet segment," Nechayev said.

The diplomat noted, according to law enforcement of European Union countries, hundreds of automatic weapons units and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition illegally shipped from Ukraine, are confiscated every month and returned to the country.

"And it's not just about light weapons. For example, on the darknet they offer to buy missiles for the Javelin anti-tank weapon system for $30,000," he explained.

Missiles for the $15,000 NLAW light anti-tank weapon system, the $7,000 Switchblade 600 kamikaze drone, to small arms, grenades and bulletproof vests are offered from $1000 to $3500. This worrying trend is causing more and more question among the Western public," he added.

The diplomat added that, in addition to weapons, the US provided reconnaissance data to Ukraine. "According to existing reports, information is used not only from military (satellite) but also from civilian, private satellites which basically leads to the militarization of space," he concluded.