Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Trump: Technical teams will meet again on Monday in Egypt to discuss and clarify the final details, and the first phase is scheduled to be completed this week
US President Donald Trump: Talks with Hamas have been very successful and are moving at a rapid pace
Local sources in Aleppo: Violent clashes erupt between the SDF and factions affiliated with the transitional authority on the Deir Hafer and Tishrin Dam fronts in the eastern Aleppo countryside
Israeli media: Interceptor missiles fired in an attempt to shoot down the drone
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded amid suspected "enemy aircraft" infiltrating the Eilat area
Israeli media: "Israel" won the battle but lost the war strategically and politically
Israeli media: Ben Gurion Airport's airspace closed to air traffic following missile launch from Yemen
Israeli media: Echoes of several explosions heard in central occupied territories
United States: A federal judge temporarily blocks President Donald Trump from deploying 200 Oregon National Guard troops to Portland
Syria: Local sources for Al-Mayadeen: An IOF patrol consisting of 4 vehicles entered the village of Suissa in the southern countryside of Quneitra

Ukraine sells weapons on black market due to limited ability to use

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 7 Jul 2022 09:54
  • 129 Shares
4 Min Read

The arms sent to Ukraine using the money of taxpayers in the United States, United Kingdom, and elsewhere are being used to line the pockets of the Ukrainian authorities.

  • x
  • A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system in Kharkiv, April 20, 2022 (Reuters)
    A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system in Kharkiv, April 20, 2022 (Reuters)

Ukraine is selling weapons it acquired from the West on the black market due to the Kiev forces' limited ability to use them because of their lack of training, logistical challenges, and the diminishing size of the Ukrainian armed forces, former senior Pentagon adviser Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik on Thursday.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu previously said the arms supplied by the West to Ukraine were ending up on the black market and spreading across West Asia. 

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.

Even weapons that Kiev could utilize on the battlefield will eventually be sold, the former defense official noted, including the high mobility and efficacy ones.

Related News

US shutdown enters fifth day as White House prepares federal layoffs

Trump marks Navy’s 250th anniversary despite US shutdown

"Even more effective US-supplied weapons like anti-tank Javelin missiles, M142 HIMARS high mobility artillery rocket systems, and M270 MLRS multiple-launch rocket systems would probably start appearing on the black market once the Ukrainians decide to negotiate a cease-fire and a settlement with Moscow," Kwiatkowski explained.

Read next: Stingers, Javelin missiles sent to Kiev sold on black market - Lavrov

Ukraine has received billions and billions of dollars in donated arms from the United States and its allies such as the United Kingdom and other NATO states in the past few months. The Biden administration alone, as of July 1, has committed nearly $7 billion, the US State Department said last week.

Just last Thursday, the White House announced that the United States was sending a new batch of military supplies to Ukraine. The new batch of arms supply is worth $450 million in shipments.

Earlier that day, Ukraine received a batch of HIMARS, weapons set on top of the Ukrainian wishlist, and the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov thanked, via his Twitter account, his "colleague and friend Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III for these powerful tools!"

An initial four units of the rocket system have already been delivered, kicking off the training program required for Ukrainian soldiers to operate the sophisticated and highly accurate weaponry.

Though the United States has been taking care of providing training for the Ukrainian soldiers when it comes to arms they are not accustomed to, Kiev is still selling its arms to the black market due to "inexperience".

Even the HIMARS are likely to be sold, according to the former defense official, Pentagon policy chief Colin Kahl said Kiev's forces recently completed training on HIMARS delivered to Ukraine by Washington and London.

  • United States
  • Pentagon
  • Russia
  • Kiev
  • United Kingdom
  • HIMARS
  • Ukraine
  • Joe Biden
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

Hamas fighters stand in formation ahead of a ceremony to hand over Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP)

Hamas reviews Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan as PIJ rejects

  • Palestine
  • 30 Sep 2025
Iraq at a crossroads: A new war front?

Iraq at a crossroads: A new war front?

  • West Asia
  • 30 Sep 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
French far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, listens to France Unbowed party parliament member Mathilde Panot during a demonstration after a Gaza-bound aid flotilla was illegally raided by the IOF, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 in Paris (AP)
Politics

French MPs on hunger strike after their detainment in 'Israel'

Gaza residents fear trap as Trump’s plan offers little relief
Politics

Flying promises and bombs: Gazans hopeful, yet deeply distrustful

Two years of destruction: Gaza endures war, famine, and displacement
Politics

UNRWA details Gaza's two years under war, famine, and displacement

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits a military hardware exhibition in Pyongyang, Notrh Korea Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025 (AP)
Politics

DPRK's Kim unveils new advanced weapons at 'Defiance Development 2025'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS