Rocket launchers, precision-guided missiles and billions of dollars’ worth of other advanced American weapons have given Ukraine a fighting chance against Russia ahead of a counteroffensive. But if even a few of the arms wind up on the black market instead of the battlefield, a Ukrainian lawmaker gloomily predicted, “we’re done.”
The lawmaker, Oleksandra Ustinova, a former anti-corruption activist who now monitors foreign arms transfers to Ukraine, does not believe there is widespread smuggling among the priciest and most sophisticated weapons donated by the United States over the last year.
#Ukraine: In #Donetsk Oblast, the Ukrainian 72nd Mechanised Brigade destroyed a loaded Russian 2B17(M) 122mm MRL of the modern Tornado-G system with two drone-dropped munitions, igniting the rockets on board. pic.twitter.com/RjUJ8OssNK
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) May 12, 2023
