The American network CBS published a report on the process of arming Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, saying that only 30% of the weapons sent by the West to the Ukrainian army reach their “nuclear destination”.

The report says advanced Western weapons play a crucial role in warfare, especially as battles are fought mostly with old Soviet weapons and often resemble WWII with building blocks, barricades and two-way artillery barrages.

The report said many of the weapons were taken to the Polish border, where US and European NATO units would hand them over to Ukrainian authorities at the border. And that’s where US and Western gun control ends, according to “Arming Ukraine,” the title of the 23.5-minute film.

Only 30% of weapons reach their final destination

The report collects several testimonies that point in that direction: Jonas Ohman, one of the heads of the Blue-Yellow Corporation, which has been arming Ukrainian units since 2014 and is based in Lithuania, says: “All these goods cross the border. , and then something happens, about 30% of them make it to their final destination.

The United States has given Ukraine $23 billion (US) in military aid since the start of the Russian invasion, while Britain has provided $3.7 billion, Germany $1.4 billion and Poland $1. .8 billion, in addition to European support.

The report indicated that some of these weapons may have ended up in the hands of traffickers who sell them on the black market, a relatively thriving market in Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to testimony from some Ukrainians. .

The paper speaks of “influencers and oligarchs as well as Ukrainian politicians” without making clear accusations against either side.

Ohman, for example, has a network of people who do not represent the Ukrainian state, as his organization, in fact, does not have the right, from a legal point of view, to supply weapons. Distribute military helmets, military drapes, realistic jackets and planes to these network fighters.

A lot of weapons?

The second testimony presented in the report is that of Andy Melbourne, a retired US Navy officer (Colonel) who previously served in Somalia and Iraq and founded the Mozart Group in Kyiv after the Russian invasion.

“If you want to secure supplies or create a logistics network, you need some orders, don’t you?” says Melbourne, criticizing Ukraine’s lack of a dedicated weapons system. The weapon goes to its final destination. People already knew they weren’t going to get where they wanted to be, and it was a surprise.”

Melbourne called for American troops in civilian clothes to be sent to Ukraine just to ensure that “the right thing is done”: a proper arms transfer.

Another thing the report mentions is that Ukraine has declared a general mobilization and all those over 16 are now banned from travel. Thus, a large number of young people are armed.

The future of weapons?

In a note, Donatella Rovera, Senior Adviser at Amnesty International, noted that no one knows where Western weapons are going. This is the second criticism of “Amnesty” in Ukraine in the same week.

Rovera added that there is concern that some countries that send weapons to Ukraine believe that “it is not their responsibility to establish a rigorous monitoring mechanism, to know where these weapons are going, how they are used today and how they will be.” be.” It will be used in the future.”

Amnesty International this week published a report criticizing Ukraine’s military, angering Kiev and prompting the resignation of the director of the organization’s Kyiv office. your dismissal.

precedents in Iraq and Afghanistan

Weapons proliferation experts say what’s happening in Ukraine is “a normal thing” and happened earlier in Iraq, after the war that toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, when the Americans shipped lots of weapons to the commodity-rich country. . . means.

In 2014, the Islamic State took control of large stockpiles of weapons destined for Iraqi forces. After the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in August, the Taliban took control of Western weapons.