The Rise of the Global Criminals
Hoards of “forgotten” guns and ammunition were left stockpiled in Ukraine after 1991. The Ukrainian mob started as gun-runners, forming disciplined militaristic organizations, much like the original Cossacks.
They were not interested in Ukrainian nationalism. Their interest was in running clandestine trade for wealth.The AK47s and their short 7.62 ammunition found their way into West Africa and Afghanistan. People running wars paid top-price for battle-tested Ukrainian hardware. The mob made a killing. They branched out naturally into narcotics and people-trafficking. Their tentacles reached all over the world in the shadow economies of the nations, trading anything, even something as apparently innocuous as cigarettes.
These cartels operate a parallel economy in Ukraine, sapping the energy of the open economy through buying corrupt influence. The Ukrainian mafia thrives best where the rule of law is not enforced or enforceable, and therefore prefers war to peace. The underworld connects seamlessly across nations, and it is from these dark roots that the oligarchs emerge, who have real political power—which is why they are being pressured by Ukraine’s allies.
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