Kiev resells up to half of Western military aid on black markets, the American journalist has claimed
A significant portion of the weapons Washington has provided to Kiev as military aid in its conflict with Russia is ending up in the hands of America’s “actual enemies,” including Mexican drug cartels, US journalist Tucker Carlson has claimed.
As much as half of all weapons sent by the US to Ukraine end up on international black markets, the former Fox News host said on Monday during an interview with retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel and Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Daniel Davis.
“The Ukrainian military is selling a huge percentage – up to half – of the arms that we send them. I know this for a fact,” Carlson claimed. However, he did not disclose his sources or provide specific evidence to support his statement.
Carlson argued that Washington is supplying Kiev with “hundreds of billions of dollars” worth of arms, a significant portion of which are being “stolen and sold to our actual enemies,” including “drug cartels on our border.” He also claimed that weapons from Ukraine could be easily purchased online, describing the situation as a “crime” and a “nightmare.”
The Ukrainian military is selling American weapons systems on the black market, including to drug cartels. This war is killing the United States. Col. Daniel Davis on how Donald Trump can end it.(0:00) Why Crimea Is So Pivotal(13:17) Ukraine Is Powerless Without the US(31:16)… pic.twitter.com/PgL3og9lTE
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 10, 2025
Since 2022, the US Congress has authorized approximately $175 billion in aid for Ukraine. However, a large portion of that funding has reportedly been allocated to American industries and other US government activities related to the conflict.
In January, US President Donald Trump claimed that Washington had spent “$200 billion more than the EU” on aid to Kiev. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky later stated that Kiev had received just over $75 billion in military and other forms of assistance from Washington, adding that he has no idea where Trump’s estimate of $200 billion originated or where it could have vanished.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that the unchecked supply of Western weapons to Ukraine has led to a large number of arms falling into the hands of organized criminal groups and extremists worldwide.
Western media and officials have also acknowledged that weapons supplied to Kiev’s backers have ended up in criminal hands. In April 2022, Europol reported that its investigations indicated weapons were being trafficked out of Ukraine and into the EU to supply organized crime groups.
In October 2022, Finnish authorities stated that weapons originally sent to Kiev had surfaced in the country and were acquired by local criminals. At the time, similar reports emerged from Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
In June 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Western anti-tank weapons intended for Ukraine had been found on Israel’s border and were allegedly aimed at the Jewish state.
In June 2024, Spanish media reported that criminal gangs in southern Spain had obtained modern military-grade weapons allegedly smuggled from Ukraine.
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