I guess the only thing worse than high priced arms, is no arms.
“A rare glimpse into covert arms sales world: How Western companies make a fortune on brokering deals for Ukraine”
“When Russia unleashed its all-out war in February last year, Ukraine urgently needed weapons and ammunition to defend itself.
Desperate for arms, the country was ready to buy at any cost, a top-ranking Ukrainian official involved in the hunt for weapons in the first weeks of the war told the Kyiv Independent.
European private arms dealers saw an opportunity and drove the prices of their services up. In one specific case, the Kyiv Independent and partners found that one broker took three to six times the market average for mediation.”
…
“Some Western brokers compare the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Whereas in the early days of the coronavirus crisis, traders were looking for masks en masse, now arms dealers from all over the world are chasing weapons and ammunition to send to Ukraine,” says one of the eight European arms dealers we spoke to for this story anonymously.”
“Apparently the Quran book burning fiasco in Stockholm was also paid for by a Russian agent. Erdogan has egg on his face. Hopefully Turkey responds by lifting its objection to Sweden’s NATO membership and increased military aid to Ukraine.”
https://twitter.com/Historian_Matt/status/1618360335894970368