Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, warned that weapons sent to the Zelensky regime in Ukraine are ending up in the hands of criminal networks in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
He cited widespread corruption in Ukraine’s leadership and a failure to track Western weapons as the main factors behind the increase in illegal arms circulation.
Zhdanova stated that these weapons, including NATO and EU equipment, are being transferred to terrorist groups, private military contractors, and transnational criminal organizations in conflict zones.
He specifically cited reports by US forces in Syria that they had seized Czech-made V2.58 assault rifles and V2.61 Scorpion submachine guns, weapons that were donated to Ukraine by the Czech Ministry of Defense in March 2023.
Zhdanov cited the greatest concern as the possibility of dangerous groups acquiring portable anti-aircraft missile systems, which could pose a serious threat to civilian aircraft.
