US weapons to Ukraine funneled into black market: Ex-Pentagon official
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Former Pentagon Advisor Col. Douglas Macgregor raises concerns about the accountability and fate of the US military aid to Ukraine.
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Ammunition is placed as Ukrainian soldiers take part in a military exercise at a military training camp in an undisclosed location in England, on March 24, 2023 (AP)
Former senior Pentagon Advisor Col. Douglas Macgregor pointed out the possibility of US-supplied weapons to Ukraine ending up on the black market.
"We're sending a billion dollars worth of equipment and much of it disappears perhaps on the black market and the cash never gets where it's supposed to go! What's happening right now demands our attention and understanding," Colonel Douglas Macgregor said in a post on X.
Cash and equipment swap in Ukraine!
— Douglas Macgregor (@DougAMacgregor) August 19, 2023
We're sending a billion dollars worth of equipment and much of it disappears perhaps on the black market and the cash never gets where it's supposed to go!
What's happening right now demands our attention and understanding.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Western countries have been steadily offering military aid to Ukraine, evolving from artillery munitions and training in 2022 to more substantial weaponry, including tanks, throughout 2023. As Ukraine's aspirations expand, with recent calls for fighter jets, the geopolitical landscape becomes increasingly complex.
Read more: Weapons supplied to Ukraine flooding Africa's black markets: DPR Head
Back in July, former senior Pentagon advisor Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik that 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.
Similarly, 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.
Read more: Stingers, Javelin missiles sent to Kiev sold on black market: Lavrov
