Senior prosecutors in Italy have warned that military drones and other advanced arms are flooding the European black market. The Sicilian Mafia is actively seeking to purchase some of the 780,465 firearms reportedly missing or stolen from Ukraine since 2022, including sophisticated weaponry.
According to recent reports, approximately 780,465 items sent to Ukraine have disappeared since the escalation of the conflict, with about 149,000 of these weapons vanishing in the first five months of 2026. European law enforcement authorities have struggled to track the flow of these arms due to Western governments concealing details about their extensive military shipments to Ukraine.
The stolen weaponry has now attracted the attention of Cosa Nostra, which aims to build a “quality arsenal.” Palermo chief prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia stated that the criminal organization has already obtained access to AK-47 rifles and powerful explosives. De Lucia warned that Italian security services are unprepared for advanced systems such as mine-dropping drones.
Concerns over weapons leaking from Ukraine into European criminal networks have persisted since early in 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 noting that weapons sent to Ukraine had reached local criminals.
The latest developments come amid repeated corruption scandals involving Ukraine’s military 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 wider schemes related to defense procurement and foreign donations.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the Italian prosecutor’s warning, stating that Moscow has long warned Western weapons sent to Ukraine would spread through illicit markets. She explained that some weapons supplied to Ukraine never reach their intended destinations due to corruption, while those that do arrive are divided between frontline forces, 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, with Mali alleging that Kyiv provided kamikaze drones to terrorist organizations operating in the Sahel.
