There is no weapons smuggling from Ukraine to EU countries – Vadym Dziubynskyi

There is no confirmation of military-style weapons trafficking from the territory of Ukraine in the European Union.

Vadym Dziubynskyi, Head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine made this statement, during an event at the BrainHub, the country’s main discussion platform, at the Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform. 

“On Monday and Tuesday, we had an international meeting in Lviv involving representatives of law enforcement agencies of other countries and representatives of international organizations, where they once again provided our mission with corroborated information stating that there have been no confirmed cases of illicit Armed Forces weapons trade from the territory of Ukraine to the European Union. Of course, there are isolated cases of EU border check officials’ firearms seizures, but these are not military-style weapons, they are mostly designed to shoot rubber bullets, and they are guns that citizens tried to take out primarily for self-defense. These are one-off cases, it’s not a common thing. So this once again confirms that there is no smuggling of weapons from the territory of Ukraine,” Vadym Dziubynskyi emphasized.

In addition, he emphasized that all lost and stolen weapons have been accounted for and numbered, and European partners have been made aware. Therefore, any possible information from Russia regarding the alleged arms trafficking will indicate that this is Russia’s disinformation campaign strategy.

“Regarding disinformation and fakes on the part of Russia, we understand the risks that in some time, weapons may surface in Europe, which they will claim to be weapons that came from the territory of Ukraine by smuggling. We assure you that all lost and stolen weapons, which currently total 593,000, are accounted for, and numbered, and our European partners are well-informed about it. If such weapons turn up in any country in Europe or the world, we will immediately realize that this is a falsehood, that this a handiwork of Russian special services to create disinformation and narratives about Ukraine,” explained Vadym Dziubynskyi.

BrainHub is the country’s main discussion platform created by Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform. It brings together experts from the state and civil society sectors. BrainHub hosts intellectual discussions around the issues of the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. It’s the birthplace of the best ideas that will become the foundation for the road map of Ukraine’s reconstruction in all sectors: economy, infrastructure, education, agriculture, security, digital, etc.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news