Wezeman, Siemon et al.. 2015 ‘The Impact of the Crisis in Ukraine on Arms Transfers.’ SIPRI Yearbook 2015, pp. 83-84. Stockholm: Stockholm Peace Research Institute / SIPRI. 1 March

Relevant contents

Arming Ukrainian rebels

Since the start of the conflict the Ukrainian Government and US officials have repeatedly accused Russia of supplying vast numbers of weapons to rebel forces in eastern Ukraine, including tanks and other armoured vehicles, and heavy artillery.

Other NATO members accept that Russia has supplied weapons, but have not always been convinced of the accuracy of the Ukrainian and US accusations. While it is clear that the rebels are well equipped with heavy weapons, the claims of massive deliveries from Russia are difficult to confirm. Many of the weapons used by the rebels have been positively identified from photographs, but they are mostly types used by the Ukrainian armed forces as well as many others, including Russia. The visual evidence therefore rarely proves Russian supplies, but nor does it support Russian statements that it has not delivered any weapons at all. Unclear or patently false information has also caused confusion, as for example when Ukrainian parliamentarians tried to convince the US Senate Armed Services Committee that Russian troops were active in Ukraine using photographs of Russian troops invading Georgia in 2008, or when the rebels in June 2014 claimed to have the newly developed Verba portable SAM system in service.

However, a few of the weapons identified as being in the possession of the rebels must have come from Russia. These include BTR-82AM APCs and T-72B3 tanks, both of which only entered service in Russia in 2013 and are known not to have been exported by Russia to any other country. It remains unclear whether these weapons were being used by rebels or operated by the Russian military, or how many there were, but the fact that at least some have been identified as involved in the fighting undermines the Russian denials of direct involvement on Ukrainian territory and lends credibility to the claims of much larger Russian supplies to the rebels.

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