Concerns over arms proliferation mount
US President Joe Biden is expected to sign in the coming days a $40 billion (about R647bn) security-assistance package that will supercharge the flow of missiles, rockets, artillery and drones to war-torn Ukraine.
But what remains unclear is Washington’s ability to keep track of the powerful weapons as they enter one of the largest trafficking hubs in Europe.
Ukraine’s illicit arms market has ballooned since Russia’s initial invasion in 2014, buttressed by a surplus of loose weapons and limited controls on their use.
This reality for the US and its allies comes amid urgent pleas from President Volodymyr Zelensky to provide artillery needed to counter Russian forces. But the unprecedented influx of arms has prompted fears that some equipment could fall into the hands of Western adversaries or re-emerge in faraway conflicts for decades to come.
A State Department spokesperson said the US has conducted thorough vetting of the Ukrainian units it supplies while forcing Kiev to sign agreements that “do not allow the retransfer of equipment to third parties without prior US government authorisation”.
Arms experts say ensuring that US weapons are used for their intended purpose is made all the more difficult by the sheer volume of arms making their way to Ukraine.
The emergency spending bill awaiting approval in the Senate will cement Ukraine’s status as the world’s single largest recipient of US security assistance this year. Other Nato countries also transferred billions of dollars in arms and military equipment to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s history as a hub for arms trafficking dates to the fall of the Soviet Union, when the Soviet military left behind large amounts of small arms and light weapons without adequate record-keeping and inventory control. The problem grew more acute after Russia’s invasion in 2014, which saw an estimated 300 000 small arms and
light weapons looted or lost in Ukraine from 2013-2015” – a boon to the black market run by Mafia-style groups in Donbas and other criminal networks.
Watchdog groups are also concerned about arms proliferation amid reports that Russia has enlisted mercenaries from Libya, Syria and Chechnya. Russia has said 16 000 volunteers in the Middle East stood ready to fight alongside Russian-backed forces. The introduction of foreign fighters risks weapons being returned to those individuals’ countries of origin when the fighting in Ukraine ends. |