KYIV (Reuters) – A senior Ukrainian official proposed on Thursday creating a special commission to help track weapons received from Kyiv’s foreign allies.
Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, made his proposal following signs of concern abroad that criminals might steal some of the weapons and smuggle them out of Ukraine for sale on the black market.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Kyiv has received increasingly sophisticated weapons from its foreign allies, including U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.
But the Financial Times, quoting Western officials, reported this week that NATO and European Union states are pushing for better tracking of the weapons supplied to Ukraine.
“I would like to suggest that people’s deputies (parliamentarians) consider one important idea. Namely, the creation of a Temporary Special Commission, which will deal with the preparation and consideration of issues related to control over the use of weapons received from our partners,” Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“All received Western weapons are registered and sent to the front. Everything is clearly controlled and now this process will become even more open.”
Yermak gave few details of the commission but said it should draw up an “optimal model of parliamentary control over the use of weapons.”
“Parliament, as a legislative body, should be involved in the control of allied defence assistance,” he said. “The issue of weapons is a priority for our country.”
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
