MFA: Financial Times publishes disinformation about alleged arms smuggling from Ukraine

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has demanded that the British Financial Times refute an article about the alleged spread of arms smuggling from Ukraine. In particular, Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko demanded an immediate editorial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the publication of the article, which has all the hallmarks of disinformation in the interests of Russia.

Source. The official account of the Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

Direct speech. In particular, Nikolenko writes, the Financial Times article of February 6, 2023, has the headline: "Moldovan Prime Minister Calls for More EU Aid to Curb Arms Smuggling from Ukraine".

At the beginning of the article, it is noted that the then Prime Minister of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilitsa, told the Financial Times that her country was "seeing an increase" in the smuggling of weapons, people and goods from Ukraine amid the war.

The author goes on to outline the scale of the problem: "Illegal smuggling of arms, people and goods from Ukraine has been a major concern for EU countries since Russia's invasion last February, exacerbated by the huge amount of weapons shipped into the country over the past 11 months."

In response, according to the article, Brussels has set up a "support center" in Moldova in an effort to monitor and counteract attempts at illegal trade. This initiative, according to Gavrilitsa, has achieved "successful efforts in the context of stopping the smuggling of weapons and people."

Nikolenko quotes the former head of the Moldovan government directly in the article: "We don't want to become a country where security threats are growing, or . . human trafficking or smuggling".

Natalia Gavrilitsa also says that Moldova needs EU support to "prevent the smuggling network from growing."

"This is a legitimate desire of a representative of a country whose territory is at war. But does the former Moldovan prime minister directly talk about the facts of arms smuggling or its increase? No," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasizes.

The quotes from the former Moldovan Prime Minister do not correspond to the headline of the Financial Times article. The author of the article also does not provide any evidence of arms smuggling.

"Moreover, we have not received any confirmed information or specific facts from the Moldovan side about the supply of smuggled weapons from Ukraine," Nikolenko writes.

This Financial Times article is another piece of disinformation aimed at discrediting international military assistance to Ukraine, he emphasizes.

He recalled that last year the same author had already published a similar article in which he also manipulated the topic of alleged arms smuggling from Ukraine.

Background. Meanwhile, it was reported that AliExpress Russia will import spare parts from Western manufacturers to Russia without their consent.