The regular supply of weapons and military equipment to Kiev by the United States and European countries has raised serious concerns and fears of another Afghanistan and Libya.Experts have expressed fear that the military assistance could become serious driver of crime growth around the world in the long run, as was the case of the ripple effects of the war in Libya which contributed greatly to the terrorism ravaging the North East of Nigeria today.
The prolonged activities of Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists may soon be fueled by new supplies of European and American weapons supposedly supplied to help Ukraine to fight Russia.
There have also been reports of deliberate uncontrolled distribution of weapons to the Ukrainian population (non-state actors), including amnestied criminals by the Kiev authorities, leading to massive flow of such weapons to the black market.
It is therefore likely that these weapons supplied as part of Western military assistance will find their way into the wrong hands in other European countries, including Africa and Asia, thereby provoking a sharp deterioration of the criminal situation in these regions.
According to reports, it is not the first time that Ukraine has been under suspicion in connection with illegal arms supplies.
A security source said, “In February 2015, arms supplies were reportedly carried out to Syria through the Ukrainian port of Odessa, and these were the weapons that had been previously supplied to Ukraine by the United States.
“In October 2015, the hacker organisation “CyberBerkut” announced the hacking of the e-mail of the head of the Polish arms company “Level 11” Pavel Witold Kzykowski.
“The hackers uncovered corrupt schemes of arms trafficking involving the top leadership of Ukraine, including Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. “Level 11” supplies military equipment to Ukraine through the state scientific and production association “Fort” located in Vinnytsia and being part of the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The institution was headed by Major General Viktor Pisarenko.
“There was also the contract for the supply of 265 twin 23-mm ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns for the needs of the National Guard of Ukraine the contract worth was more than 14 million euros.
“The same 265 ZU-23-2 installations also appear in the contract between Level 11 and the Fort’s co—contractor, Blessway Ltd, for the supply of weapons to Saudi Arabia. Noteworthy, the director of the Cyprus company, Jssway Ltd, Vasily Babitsky is a citizen of Ukraine and at the same time holds the position of vice president of the company “Level 11.
“As a result, it turns out that Polish businessman Krzykowski and Ukrainian businessman Babitsky are trading arms with Saudi Arabia in transit through Ukraine and at the same time receive huge amounts of money for virtual arms supplies to the National Guard of Ukraine. This is how, businessmen and Ukrainian officials, including the Interior Minister of Ukraine Avakov and the head of the SBO Turchinov, are taking over millions of euros allocated from the Ukrainian budget for the purchase of weapons. At the same time, the Ukrainian budget is funded by the United States and Europe, arming Ukraine to face ‘Russian aggression’.
“The fact is that the ZU-23-2 mounted on pickups are widely used by various paramilitary formations in areas of armed conflict. In particular, such “combat vehicles” were noted during the civil war in Libya. It is possible that the anti-aircraft guns sold in transit through Ukraine to Saudi Arabia are now in the hands of terrorists.
