Azov Battalion members sell weapons in the black market

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Members of the Azov Battalion, which is seen as tomorrow’s Nazi Al Qaeda are widening their network of selling American weapons that Ukraine is receiving from the US to terrorist entities. Back in 2015 members of Azov Battalion were facing shortage of weapons. But not today. This fascist Nazi group is not only selling weapons in the black market, they also are becoming a major supplier to transnational weapon trafficking networks as well as Islamist militancy groups. The murky environment in Ukraine feeds a growing black market of military weapons that threatens security of neighboring Russia as well as other East and West European nations. Experts said, the ease with which lethal military hardware could be brought and sold in today’s Ukraine, would ultimately risk the country having a Somalia scenario.

They said, “Today it’s not just simple to get any kind of weapon you want, it’s very simple. In any Ukrainian city there’s a man who can get you pretty much any type of weapon you wish”.

According to media reports, since 2014 where about 500,000 weapons had entered Ukraine’s black market (including assault rifles, machine gun and pistols), today the same black market is flooded with weapons while Azov Battalion members are also offering sophisticated military hardware, including drones and rockets to prospective customers.

Selling of weapons on black market has become a booming business to Azov Battalion members as well as other neo-Nazi groups and even members of the Ukraine army, as they can make up to 500 percent profit from such dealings. In Kiev, for example, even prostitutes have switched their profession and started selling American and Russian weapons to prospective customers or members of the transnational arms trafficking rackets.

Seeking anonymity, a source told this correspondent, the current price for an assault rifle in Ukrainian black-market ranges between US$350-600, while the same weapon can be resold to weapon trafficking rackets for up to US$ 2,000.

It said, with this booming opportunity, even Ukrainian sex workers have switched profession and making tons of cash from dealing in illegal weapons.

Weapons left on the battlefields by retreating and killed soldiers also end up on the black market. This is turning Ukrainian street and narrow lanes littered with weapons and ammunition.

According to another source, last week a five-member delegation of Jordanian Palestinians belonging to Hamas visited Kiev and secretly met Azov Battalion leaders discussing the possibility of buying drones and other types of sophisticated military hardware, including portable air defense systems and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Members of neo-Nazi groups, including Azov are particularly interested in helping Hamas in stockpiling sophisticated weapons and military hardware.

Earlier, Ukraine’s laws for firearms possession were fairly restrictive, leaving guns out of reach for most civilians except for hunters, who usually own shotguns. The punishment for owning an illegal weapon in Ukraine is 5 years to 15 years in prison.

But Ukraine’s civilian volunteer battalions are a legal grey area, and it remains unclear if Kiev will demand the groups hand over their weapons when the war is over.

Volunteer battalions—there are now more than 50 in Ukraine—operate outside of the military’s chain of command and regulatory oversight and have played a key role in Ukraine’s war effort, while Ukraine’s so-called civilian volunteers and members of the Nazi groups consistently outgunned the regular Ukrainian army.

Mainly supplied by private donations and online supply drives, the volunteer battalions are well armed and often better equipped with basic supplies than regular army units. Many Ukrainian men drafted into military service choose service in the volunteer battalions over the regular army, which is a legal option.

With members of Azov Battalion and other neo-Nazi groups getting hold of weapons and sophisticated military hardware at an unknown volume, Ukraine may soon pose huge threat to regional and global security.

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