Russia claims Ukraine arms, supplied by the West, spreading to Middle East and black market

Moscow: Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow on Tuesday (July 5) claimed that some of the West-supplied weapons are spreading across the Middle East and ending up on the black market.

During televised remarks, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Ukraine had received more than 28,000 tonnes of military cargo so far, and some of the Western weapons were appearing in the Middle East.

Shoigu said: "In the hope of prolonging the conflict in Ukraine, the collective West is continuing large-scale arms supplies to the Kyiv regime."

"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," he added.

Although, he didn't provide any evidence to support his claims. He neither provided any other details.

Russia announced the invasion of its neighbouring country Ukraine on February 24 this year. But Moscow calls it a "special military operation."

To counter Russia's invasion, the US and other Western countries have provided Ukraine with advanced and high-precision weapons.

If we talk just about the US, including the latest package, around $6.9 billion has been provided so far by Washington to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country.

In the latest development, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered Russian troops to press their offensive deeper into the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine after Moscow's forces seized the strategic city of Lysychansk.

Shoigu told Putin on Monday that Moscow's forces were now in full control of the Lugansk region. On Tuesday, Shoigu said that Russia would continue what the Kremlin has termed a "special military operation" until the end.