Accusations regarding the illegal supply of weapons from Ukraine to Finland and other EU countries, made by the Finnish media Yle, were refuted by the Finnish Police and the Finnish Ambassador to Ukraine. This was announced by the Foreign Affairs and the Internal Affairs Ministries of Ukraine.
UPD: The National Investigation Bureau (NBI) of the Finnish Police has officially confirmed that it currently has no evidence of weapons being supplied to Finland from Ukraine. Accusations of weapons being transferred from Ukraine to members of Finnish organized crime are also false. The police have no evidence suggesting this.
The Finnish media Yle published an article Intelligence information: Weapons delivered to Ukraine ended up with criminals in Finland (English version) with accusations to Ukraine regarding the illegal supply of weapons. The only source of information in the article is Crime Commissioner Christer Ahlgren from the Finnish Police – National Bureau of Investigation (Keskusrikospoliisi).
The article was immediately picked up by Russian propaganda media – RBK, Izvestiya, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Komsomolskaya Pravda, RT and others. Oleksiy Pushkov, Russia’s Commission of the Federation Council on Information Policy head, also found the time to comment on the publication, calling it «useful information for Finnish politicians and citizens.»
In the article, without any available evidence, accusations were made that alleged weapons from Ukraine had already entered Finland through illegal channels. Before that, according to Krister Algren, such cases were allegedly already discovered in the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. The commissioner claims that he is also aware of cases of rifles and even bazookas from Ukraine being found in Europe. No specific details are given in the article.
The article also mentions the Bandidos MC biker clubs, whose divisions are allegedly present «in every major city of Ukraine,» among the illegal channels of arms entering Finland. The article also mentions alleged known cases when Ukrainians abroad threatened taxi drivers with weapons.
StopFake contacted the Yle editorial office to clarify the claims made in the article and spoke with the article’s author, Kirsi Heikel. She reported that she fully trusted the information she received from Christer Algren, calling it «preliminary intelligence.»
After a conversation with the journalist, the English translation of the article was changed to a less definitive one: in the headline and in the lead, clarifications were made that Finnish intelligence «suggests» that weapons from Ukraine «could» be in the hands of criminal elements.
StopFake contacted the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry and Ukraine’s Embassy in Finland in order to clarify the information through diplomatic channels. In communication with the Police of Finland, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry established that currently the Finnish side has no confirmed information about the illegal supplies of weapons to Finland. The Finnish Ambassador in Kyiv also did not confirm the information published in the Finnish mass media.
«The news about the alleged smuggling of weapons from Ukraine to Finland is yet another Russian disinformation,» said Oleh Nikolenko, spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The information provided in the Finnish article was also refuted by the Internal Affairs Ministry of Ukraine. To verify the facts stated in the interview, the Ministry sent a request to Finland, Sweden, and Denmark using the Europol communication system.
«Kremlin propagandists use the fruits of the labor of foreign journalists who use unverified sources, opinions of experts affiliated with pro-Russian forces,» the agency’s official Telegram channel stated.
On November 1, an official statement was published on the website of the Finnish Police refuting accusations against Ukraine of illegally supplying weapons to Finland. The police have no such evidence. «We don’t know whether the weapons delivered to Ukraine ended up in the hands of Finnish criminals,» said Markus Välimäki, Deputy Director of the National Investigation Bureau (NBI) of the Finnish Police.
Russia continues to make efforts to discredit international military aid to Ukraine. Its goal is to convince Europeans that the weapons that their governments transfer to Ukraine to counter Russian aggression will end up in the hands of criminal elements.
StopFake has already refuted the fakes that Europol allegedly was aware of cases of illegal weapons trafficking from Ukraine, and the EU is afraid of «Ukrainian smuggling» of weapons and drugs.
