Its quite difficult to blackmarket howitzers and 155mm ammo.
Not a lot of people want these things. Those that have a use for them have them already. Those that would like them can’t, because they are very hard to sneak around and hide. Anyway, the only significant customer for this stuff at the moment is ... Ukraine.
That 70% came out of someines posterior.
Western massive arms transfers to Kiev have been a disaster, from anyone’s perspective. In an interview with US National Defense, Ukrainian Army Brigadier General Volodymyr Karpenko admitted his country lost almost 50% of all weaponry and equipment it received. Some of it got destroyed, but that is not the whole story.
ordnance sent to Ukraine is ending up in black markets and is sold in the so-called darknet and deep web platforms. There, one can buy Javelin anti-tank systems for about $30,000 or British NLAW systems for half the price. There is a demand for that, of course. Terrorists and criminal gangs are the buyers.
This situation alarms Interpol. Already on May 28, Europol director Catherine De Bolle voiced her concerns about the war increasing the importing of arms into Europe’s black markets.
The Ukrainian armed forces are notoriously corrupt. Ukraine has long been believed to be one of the major arms trafficking markets in Europe. It has the third highest criminality score of 33 countries in Europe. In today’s world, illicit trade plays a major role in the financing of terrorist and extremist networks globally.
The statements by Moscow and the Pentagon are not just claims, as Kiev itself backed them by admitting that foreign aid meant for Ukraine was already being sold. Ukraine's Bureau of Economic Security Director Vadym Melnyk told Ukraine 24 earlier this week that the agency had identified repeated cases of the sale of Western military and humanitarian aid.
"Given that these items are 'free,' a great deal of profit can be made by] selling what is not needed or cannot be easily used," Kwiatkowski said. "Ukraine's ability to utilize these 'gifts' is limited by lack of training, logistical challenges, and the ever-shrinking size of the Ukrainian army," the retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel added.
While some of the incoming material is incomplete, Kiev simply cannot utilize other equipment and implement it into its tactics or strategy, she added.
Kwiatkowski also highlighted how ironically, some of the weapons Ukraine is selling will likely end up in the hands of the Russian armed forces and their allies.
Given weapons that Kiev could utilize on the battlefield will eventually be sold, the former defense official noted, including the high mobility and efficacy ones. More at link https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ukraine-sells-weapons-on-black-market-due-to-limited-ability