Such smuggling “fuels violence in criminal networks in the European Union”, Johansson said, adding that the center will be a “one-stop shop” that will allow the EU’s border agency Frontex to support local border agencies and enable Europol. to share information.
An EU official highlighted the differences in the arms trade process: “It’s hard to avoid arms smuggling. We try to track them, but I’d be lying if I said we succeed. We failed after the war. In Yugoslavia, and we can’t stop it now,” speaking anonymously to EUobserver.
Still, Aija KalnajaThe interim head of Frontex said that Moldova was chosen as the base of operations “because that is where the illegal arms trade can mostly come from”.
To increase local capacity and fight human trafficking, each member state will also send law enforcement officers to the center’s headquarters, based in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, the EU’s home affairs commissioner said.
According to EUobserver reports, Ukraine has a long history of illegal arms trafficking, the most notable case being the Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina, which was caught smuggling tanks, artillery and AKM assault rifles to Sudan in 2009.
The incident came to light when the ship was captured by Somali pirates.
In particular, the new center comes amid urgent requests from the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to increase supplies of weapons and ammunition to counter Russian advances in the east and south of the country.
Washington’s heavy influx of missiles, rockets and artillery into war-torn Ukraine recently has raised fears that powerful weapons are entering Ukraine’s illegal arms market, and that some of them could also re-emerge in distant conflicts for decades to come. President Joe Biden Following urgent requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine will provide the artillery needed to counter Russian forces in the east and south of the country.
The emergency spending bill, pending approval by the US Senate, will cement Ukraine’s position as the world’s largest single recipient of US security assistance, receiving more in 2022 than the US has ever given to Afghanistan, Iraq or Israel in a single year.
The bill also increases the stockpile of weapons already committed by the United States to Ukraine, including 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 5,500 anti-tank missiles, 700 Switchblade drones, 90 long-range howitzer artillery systems, 7,000 small arms, 50,000,000 rounds of ammunition, and numerous rounds of ammunition. other mines, explosives and laser-guided rocket systems.
Source: ANI
Source: The Nordic Page