New Smuggling Routes for Illicit Arms

In this investigation a team of three international journalists based in Spain, Ukraine and Kenya have analysed all high-profile cases of illicit weapons since 1991 in which Ukraine was mentioned.

Ukraine was only part of the scheme, with the weapons going mainly to Africa and the Middle East. Taking advantage of the chaos and corruption, independent armed “barons” looted warehouses full of Soviet equipment, and later security officers and officials took over the smuggling market and willing to violate the international embargo.

On 14 November 2020, Spanish news media The Olive Press published a story about the arrest of an international gang of arms smugglers who were trying to ship Russian tanks to Africa and the Middle East via Ukraine and the Mediterranean. Arms smuggling into countries under the international embargo is nothing new. But the protracted conflict in eastern Ukraine and the heavy military presence on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides have set a new precedent for arms trafficking.

The investigation looked at how the conflict in Eastern Europe fuelled the international illicit arms trade, with the ultimate destination being unstable countries on the African continent.

Photo: Vincent Mundy / Bloomberg via Getty Images