Foreign Ministry denies China’s claims about smuggling of Western weapons from Ukraine

Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko called on China to operate with facts instead of being what he called “a tool in the hands of Russian propaganda.”

“Our state has a modern and effective system of control over the receipt and use of weapons, which enjoys high confidence on the part of our partners. This system is multi-level and completely excludes any possibility of illegal export of weapons,” he said.

Earlier on Feb. 23, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin claimed that weapons supplied by the U.S. to Ukraine are often smuggled into the hands of criminal groups in the EU and other regions.

Ukraine weapons smuggling is a narrative widely circulated by Russian propaganda, aiming to stop the deliveries of Western military aid to Ukraine.

U.S. personnel in Ukraine have conducted multiple inspections of American security assistance supplies over the last couple of months. Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said the U.S. doesn’t have “any evidence of widespread diversion of its security assistance in Ukraine," Voice of America reported on Nov. 3.

Pentagon: US has no evidence of American aid embezzlement in Ukraine

The Kyiv Independent