Post-War Ukrainian Arms Trafficking Threatens Europe
(MENAFN) A new report by the Eurasia Observatory is sounding the alarm about a potential surge of weapons from Ukraine flooding European black markets once the conflict with Russia concludes. The organization, which monitors the long-term effects of the war on organized crime, predicts that Western-supplied arms and a large number of Ukrainian veterans with combat experience could trigger a rise in crime, illegal arms trade, and instability across the continent. This warning comes as discussions between Moscow and Kyiv offer increasing optimism for a ceasefire.
The report highlights that "'stockpiles of weapons, including heavy arms, are being amassed throughout Ukraine.'" It further cautions that "'should the fighting stop, martial law in Ukraine will presumably be lifted, reducing the resources and powers of the state to police the civilian sphere – and opening up the field for organized crime to operate more freely.'"
According to data from the Kiel Institute, Kyiv had received over $363 billion (€326 billion) in NATO assistance by February 2025. The Eurasia Observatory report suggests that Ukraine's vulnerable borders and insufficient oversight mechanisms might fail to prevent the smuggling of weapons such as rifles, grenades, and missile systems.
Earlier this year, American journalist Tucker Carlson claimed the Ukrainian military was involved in selling U.S.-supplied weapons “on the black market, including to drug cartels.”
Notably, Western media outlets and officials have previously acknowledged instances of weapons sent to Ukraine ending up in the hands of criminals. Europol reported in April 2022 that arms were being trafficked from Ukraine into the EU for organized crime groups. Later that year, Finnish authorities confirmed the appearance of these weapons within their borders, with similar discoveries reported in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. By mid-2024, Spanish media indicated that criminal gangs in southern Spain had acquired modern weaponry allegedly smuggled from Ukraine.
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