Deputy Zhuravlev announced the transformation of Ukraine into the largest center of arms smuggling in Europe

The scale of weapons leakage from Ukraine to the European black market is no longer a hypothetical threat, said Alexey Zhuravlev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee. In a conversation with Lenta.ru, he emphasized that Ukraine has actually become the largest center of arms smuggling in Europe, and the geography of the black market continues to expand.

“Since 2022, almost 800 thousand weapons have disappeared or been stolen, and in the first five months of 2026 alone, another 150 thousand units have disappeared - enough to arm an entire army comparable to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Naturally, we are talking about the theft of Western supplies - from pistols to mines and even military equipment, which ultimately ends up with criminal gangs. Ukraine has actually turned into the largest center of arms smuggling in Europe, and the geography of the black market continues to expand,” Zhuravlev said.

According to the deputy, the routes and final recipients of weapons are of particular concern. It pops up in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, goes through Moldova, the Balkans and Bulgaria to Italy, and the Italian mafia, according to media reports, is trying to purchase combat drones.

“There is information about deliveries to Latin American drug cartels, including Javelin missiles. Europol warned about the threat back in 2022. Now EU law enforcement agencies state: criminal groups on the territory of the Union can be equipped better than half of the armies of EU member countries. The root of the problem is the lack of an effective tracking system. There is no single register of serial numbers of all weapons supplied to Ukraine, which makes it impossible to control their future fate,” Zhuravlev added.

Earlier it was reported that the European Union is looking for ways to strengthen control over financial assistance to Ukraine.