Officials Reveal Haphazard, Chaotic Way Western Arms Are Being Distributed In Ukraine
In April the EU’s top law enforcement agency Europol warned that smuggling of weapons from the Ukrainian battlefield to the black market outside the warzone had likely already begun. For five months the West, especially the US and UK, has been pumping more and more weapons into the conflict. There’s also the concern that “criminal gangs” will continue using them long after the war ends.
US defense officials months ago also admitted they had “almost zero” ability to track weapons they hand out to Ukrainian forces. The Pentagon inspector General also recently admitted this reality on the ground. Most recently, according to fresh reporting in the Financial Times this week, multiple NATO countries are in talks with Ukraine’s government to establish a monitoring mechanism to better oversee weapons shipments and their locations once in the hands of local forces.
The report cites unnamed Western officials who are talking about the need for “detailed inventory lists” of all military gear sent into the country. This begs the question: why don’t such lists complete with serial numbers exist to begin with?
Underscoring the haphazard and chaotic nature of how arms and gear are delivered across the border, the FT details based on a source:
“All these weapons land in southern Poland, get shipped to the border and then are just divided up into vehicles to cross: trucks, vans, sometimes private cars,” said one of the western officials. “And from that moment we go blank on their location and we have no idea where they go, where they are used or even if they stay in the country.”
Some international publications have already noted parallels to Syria, given it was long ago documented that US coalition weapons were found in ISIS and al Qaeda hands in ample supply after the West’s covert program to arm the anti-Assad insurgency.
However, some US officials are still still claiming there’s close monitoring and oversight of these weapons, while still admitting the possibility they could fall into the “wrong hands”:
I think I owe the public a firm opinion on this.
I don't support Trump for a second run for president, based on age alone.
We need to stop being stupid about this.— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) July 14, 2022
“ US defense officials months ago also admitted they had “almost zero” ability to track weapons they hand out to Ukrainian forces.”
Sounds like Obama’s Fast and Furious gun running scheme. How long before one of our own weapons kills one of our own citizens?