Russia spreads fake claim that Ukraine sold weapons to Italian mafia
Photo: Russia fabricated that Ukraine sold up to 800,000 units of weapons to the mafia (from open sources)
Russian propaganda is spreading a fake claim that Ukraine is allegedly selling weapons and strike drones to the Italian mafia. To do this, they are using manipulations around a statement by the chief prosecutor of Palermo, Maurizio de Lucia, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation.
As noted by the Center, Russian propaganda resources, citing Palermo Chief Prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia and Italian media, claim that allegedly over 780,000 units of weapons transferred to Ukraine by Western partners were stolen and ended up on the black market.
In addition, they claim that Ukrainian military personnel are allegedly supplying drones to Italian mafia groups.
The Center for Countering Disinformation emphasized that these claims are false. In particular, the figure of 780,465 has no connection to military aid to Ukraine.
In reality, this is official open data from Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs on the number of lost and stolen civilian and personal weapons on the country's territory since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. This data does not indicate the loss or theft of Western weapons.
Fake about selling drones to the mafia
The Center also refuted the claim that Ukraine is allegedly selling drones to the Italian mafia. As explained by the Center, Palermo Prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia did not state that mafia groups are buying drones specifically from Ukraine.
The Italian media article cited by Russian propagandists only mentioned concerns by Italian law enforcement about the possible risks of developing a black market for weapons in Europe due to the war.
According to the prosecutor, the mafia is merely showing interest in new military technologies and is looking for opportunities to acquire drones.
The Center for Countering Disinformation reminded that Ukraine operates a multi-level system of accounting and control over the use of weapons provided by Western partners, with the participation of the supplier countries themselves.
The Center emphasized that since the start of the full-scale war, no evidence has been made public of Ukraine selling Western weapons on the black market.
According to the Center's assessment, the goal of this information campaign is to undermine international partners' trust in Ukraine, discredit the weapons control system, and discredit Ukraine's defense sector.
As is known, the enemy regularly fabricates fakes about Ukraine in order to discredit it before the world and its partners. Moreover, the fabricated stories vary widely—from US biolaboratories allegedly located in Ukraine to non-existent successes at the front.
