© AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy/TASS

Over the past few months, the United States and Europe have been literally stuffing Ukraine with all kinds of weapons, expecting it to destroy the Russian army and civilians. And the latter just can’t get enough of it.

All of a sudden, an unpleasant thing has come to the surface: these weapons have flooded the "black markets" and criminal structures in Europe itself, whose stability and well-being is threatened. In summer, Interpol chief Jurgen Stock expressed concern about an increase in illegal arms trafficking because of the conflict in Ukraine. Europol director Catherine de Bolle warned against letting the arms fall into the hands of criminals: "We want to prevent a situation akin to that of 30 years ago in the Balkan war. The weapons from that war are still being used by criminal groups today."

Western arms sent to Ukraine have already found themselves in the hands of Finnish criminals.  "We've seen signs of these weapons already finding their way to Finland. Ukraine has received a large volume of weapons and that's good, but we're going to be dealing with these arms for decades and pay the price here," NBI detective superintendent Christer Ahlgren said, referring to intelligence data.

Weapons shipped to Ukraine have also been found in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. Assault rifles, pistols, grenades and combat drones are in particular demand among bandits and terrorists. This arsenal is enough for Finland to get in hot water for decades to come, not to mention investigation and police effort expenditures.

In turn, Switzerland is extremely concerned about the illegal export of weapons supplied by the West from Ukraine. Leaders of the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich have released a report to assess smuggled weapons and ammunition NATO provided Ukraine with.

The report notes a number of specific facts and evidence. For instance, the association of Kurdish public organizations has arranged for deliveries of Western anti-tank missile systems from Kiev to the Middle East. Those are shipped by land across Moldova, Romania and further by sea.

Also, Swiss experts note that pro-Turkish armed formations are showing hyperactivity in exporting and reselling Western arms from Ukraine.

With weapons pumped into Ukraine these months, their prices plunge, making arms dealers ready to comply with any customer request. EU law enforcement agencies confiscate hundreds of automatic weapons and lots of ammunition every single month. The other day, smugglers engaged in transporting weapons and ammunition to Europe were detained in Lvov. In their car’s trunk there were Panzerfaust 3 and RGW-90 MATADOR pieces, along with small arms.

In order to somehow minimize new risks and threats, the European Commission is creating a center to combat arms smuggling in Ukraine’s neighboring Moldova. A statement to this effect came from Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johanson.

The United States itself is also sounding the alarms, and this is true for both journalists and the Pentagon. The American TV has recently exposed how 70% of Western military aid disappears at the border with Ukraine. CBS News has announced its documentary "Arming Ukraine" aiming to show that a mere 30% of weapons supplied by the West reach the Ukrainian border. The rest vanishes to an undisclosed location over a short period of time.

The scale of theft in Ukraine has grown, and the loss of weapons can be easily blamed on Russia. The more Ukrainian warehouses it demolishes, the easier it is to explain the lack of dozens and hundreds of Stinger or Javelin missiles. Later they will emerge in the black market and end up in the hands of Middle Eastern terrorists.

Retired Colonel of the US Marine Corps Andrew Milburn lambasted the supply of American weapons to Kiev as fraud. He said the US Congress loses control over military cargos as long as they cross the border with Ukraine. Ukrainian generals and politicians are in for a treat, given the recently approved aid package worth nearly $40 billion. To stop arms theft and resale, the United States decided to get back to tracking everything transferred to Ukraine. The administration came up with a relevant plan calling this an urgent issue, as weaponry sent to Ukraine is being actively sold in the black market, ending up in third countries. The Biden administration had to acknowledge the elephant in the room following statements by Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) and Congresswoman Victoria Spartz (R-Ind), who called for tighter control over supplies and an end to diversion of American weapons from Ukraine.

Public pressure forced the DoD to launch an investigation and form an ad hoc commission. The one in charge of the issue is acting Inspector General of the Pentagon Sean W. O'Donnell. As announced officially, the department has sent weapons experts to Ukraine to check for weapons supplied by the US and military support utilization efficiency.

Preliminary results of the probes were published by The Washington Post and turned out rather modest: " US monitors have inspected just 10 percent of high-risk weapons sent to Ukraine, as the Biden administration launches new measures to stop arms smuggling". Officials only managed to conduct two personal inspections at Ukraine’s armories, where weapons should have been stored after arriving via Poland.

Russia has repeatedly warned Europe and the United States about consequences of pumping weapons into Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin was explicit to point out the danger of a black arms market operating in Ukraine: "According to information at our disposal, some of the foreign weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine are spreading across the Middle Eastern region and are also ending up on the black market."

Vienna talks on military security and arms control saw the Russian delegation provide evidence of clandestine weapons trade by the Ukrainian side. An OSCE plenary meeting featured footage reflecting the purchase and sale moment of anti-tank missile systems, with two Ukrainians standing next to a car with Albanian registration numbers and discussing prices for Javelin and NLAW ATGMs. They cost three to five thousand euros, and in the car trunk there were about half a dozen tubes with rockets in them.

All of this not only confirms that Western weaponry and military property are being actively stolen by Ukraine to make it into the black market, but also testifies to the scale of what is going on. Now, it’s up to Europe to suffer blowback.