Kyiv, Ukraine

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Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. 

Russia recently said that the advanced and high-precision weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine are spreading across the Middle East, eventually ending up in the black market. Refuting all the claims, Ukraine said that such accusations are Russian propaganda. On Wednesday (July 13), Ukraine also said that the delivery of arms is closely monitored by the authorities. 

Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said: "All the weapons received by Ukraine, including long-range ones, are carefully accounted (for) and sent to the frontline." 

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"All the other 'rumors' are banal propagandistic throwaways aiming to disrupt supplies," he added in a comment on Twitter. 

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On July 5, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said in televised remarks that Ukraine had received more than 28,000 tonnes of military cargo so far. He claimed that some Western weapons were appearing in the Middle East. 

Shoigu had said: "In the hope of prolonging the conflict in Ukraine, the collective West is continuing large-scale arms supplies to the Kyiv regime. According to information at our disposal, some of the foreign weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine are spreading across the Middle Eastern region and are also ending up on the black market." 

But in the latest development, Ukraine has refuted all the claims as Podolyak even described the supply of weapons by Washington and European allies as "a matter of survival" for Ukraine. He said that the delivery of arms and weapons is monitored on a priority basis by the government. 

ALSO READ | Ukrainian President Zelensky says Russia 'doesn't have the courage' to admit defeat

This week, the EU announced that a hub will be created in Moldova to battle organised crime. The main focus will be on arms smuggling from Ukraine. 

Ylva Johansson, the EU home affairs commissioner, announced the EU Support Hub for Internal Security and Border Management at a Monday meeting of EU interior ministers. It was expanded to include counterparts from non-EU countries Ukraine and Moldova. 

The meeting aimed at the threat of weapons being smuggled out of Ukraine and ending up with crime gangs in different parts of the continent. 

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