Thursday, October 2, 2008

Ukraine Admits Illegal Arms Trading

According to Russia Today, the Prime Minister of Ukraine admits there has been illegal arms sales from Ukraine.

This all came to light because of the hijacking of the M/V Faina by Somali pirates. The vessel was going to Kenya, but it was determined the cargo of tanks and other weaponry was destined for Sudan.

The Russian vessel Neustrashimy is on it's way to Somalia. It should be there any day now, but I suspect it's location is being kept quiet.

So, here's the deal. The pirates stopped a ship and are holding it ransom. Now that everyone knows the cargo should NOT be going to it's destination, they will keep it from being released.

I wonder what will happen. The ship will be returned to Ukraine? Russia will take control of it?

Oh, and the other thing. These tanks could have been sold for a lot more money to Pakistan (who apparently wanted them). I presume the decision who to sale them to was based on how much kickback the "authorities" in Ukraine would receive. I guess those folks are on their way to somewhere else by now.

Update 18:00 CDT

From The Nation, Nairobi, Kenya (click here for complete article)

"The Nation sent questions to the Ukrinmash (the official Ukrainian arms dealer) website address but none of them has been answered.

The questions included: "Are you in contact with the pirates?

"Are the pirates demanding ransom?

"Are you ready to pay?

"Which countries are helping you?

"Was the consignment destined for Kenya or Southern Sudan?"

It also emerged that Kenya might have been sucked into an arms stockpiling contest between the Sudanese government in Khartoum and the South Sudan administration based in Juba."

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