Not since the last world war have so many weapons been sent from the US to Europe. Concerns of good faith and bad have been raised by the influx of guns into a country with a long-term corruption problem.
The Kremlin is worried that the guns used against it could end up in the hands of criminals or extremists.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, told reporters this month that a lot of the weapons were entering the black market.
Pro-Russian media has aired similar claims of a mass diversion of arms meant for the frontline, some of which include a source claiming only 30% of weapons sent to Ukraine made it to the battlefield.
It takes an almost incomprehensible lack of shame for Russian propagandists to complain about their own creation of a conflict zone. The invading power has sent a lot of weaponry to Ukraine, including armored personnel carriers, howitzers, rocket launchers and all, as well as conscripts who have abandoned them.
The good news is that, according to authorities and arms control experts who spoke to Insider, fears that advanced Western arms to Ukraine would fuel the illegal arms trade have not been realized.
According to a research analyst at the Stimson Center, there has been a lot of misinformation. Yousif co-authored an article urging US and Ukrainian authorities to develop a plan to store weapons at the end of the war. He said, "I don't think we've actually seen any diversion outside of the country."
The most important factor is that the country of Ukraine is in a fight that has united it. It would be an act of betrayal for a Ukrainian to divert the combat arms meant for the frontlines.
"As long as the frontline demand for small arms remains intense, I think it's going to be a strong draw for those weapons to stay on the battlefield," Yousif said. I would like to see some planning for the day after.
Even a tiny fraction of the weapons given to Ukraine could be devastating.
One thing is small arms. More advanced weapons systems that donors have been reluctant to give to other countries before have been given to Ukraine.
More than 1,400 MANPADS, which are capable of taking down a commercial airliner, have been given to the country's armed forces by Washington. The CIA's intervention in Syria was due to the fear that the weapon could end up in the hands of extremists. More than 10,000 grenade launcher and small arms have been delivered by the Biden administration.
More than 5000 point-and-shoot NLAW anti-tank missiles have been sent to Ukraine by the UK. Many of the weapons that Ukraine has received are imported from Poland.
Washington and its allies are less concerned about giving a military with a central command to the rebels than they are about giving a military with a central command to the Ukrainian army. The Pentagon said in June that it was considering sending teams to conduct end-use monitoring of donations, but it did not respond to a request for comment.
On Thursday, the US State Department announced a plan to assistUkraine and some of its neighbors in accounting for imported weapons, especially MANPADS and anti-tank missiles.
In order to assure allies that they are being used on the battlefield, Ukraine has created a commission. The country's defense minister told the British Broadcasting Corporation that some weapons have gps trackers on them.
That doesn't mean there isn't concern. Despite a Western arms embargo, the former Yugoslavia became flush with guns after it fell into war. The majority of guns on the black market come from the Balkans according to a study by the Flemish Peace Institute.
According to the director of the institute, there is a lot of concern that the post- conflict Ukraine could fuel the illegal arms trade. There is no evidence of increased arms trafficking fromUkraine to other countries at the moment.
The same thing is said by authorities in Europe.
The European border control agency Frontex has noticed an increase in firearms crossing between nations. She didn't know whether those detections were due to increased smuggling activities or enhanced border checks.
Most of the weapons in the country will stay in the country during the war. There could be an increase in arms smuggled out of the country.
According to the European Commission, there is no information indicating that large-scale firearms trafficking out of Ukraine is still going on. Europe's law enforcement agencies are on high alert.
"Experience from previous military conflicts such as in the Western Balkans shows that when a high volume of small arms and light weapons is available in one region, it could likely lead in the middle." "This could become a destabilizing factor for nearby regions and also a significant threat to the EU and Ukraine because organized crime groups and terrorists could have access to these weapons."
In July, the European Union announced it was creating a new hub in Chiinu to combat gun traffickers, with security experts from the bloc coming to help local law enforcement. Although not a member of the EU,Moldova is seen as the epicenter of the fight against illegal arms dealers.
The EU Home Affairs Commissioner said at the time that there were some indications that it was happening.
It has on a small scale. The new unit was created by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The ministry said there had been an increase in the trade over the previous six months, with police confiscating 12 times as many weapons compared to the same period in 2011.
The total number of guns captured points to an increase in trafficking, not a flood: in all, 24 weapons were seized, compared to just two a year before.
Russia would like to focus on this aspect of the conflict but it is not the only party to the war.
Jeff Abramson, a senior fellow at the Arms Control Association in Washington, told Insider that there is almost no transparency about how Russia's weapons are accounted for. There is no evidence that weapons have been leaked out of the conflict or that there is a black market for them.
The war could end and that could change. One side has taken visible steps to address it.
Tell us about a news story. C Davis is the reporter for Insider.
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