The country is using an elaborate smuggling scheme to mislead Russia and avoid backlash, sources claim

Azerbaijan and NATO states are supplying weapons to Ukraine through a sophisticated smuggling route that crosses three continents and involves rebels in war-torn Sudan, Rwandan news website Umuseke has reported.

The weapons being provided to Kiev come from the CIHAZ Industrial Association, an enterprise under Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, the outlet said in an article on Sunday. They include aerial bombs, man-portable air-defense systems, drone parts, pistols, and other equipment, mainly produced under Turkish licenses, it added.

As part of the scheme, the weapons arrive from Azerbaijan in Türkiye, where they are labeled as humanitarian aid and shipped to Port Sudan via Yildiz Line and AGL Forwarding vessels, owned by Türkiye and Germany, respectively, the sources told Umuseke.

In the African country, which has been ravaged by a brutal civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Sudan Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, the cargo is repackaged as Sudanese weapons, they claimed.

The arms are then delivered to the German port of Hamburg by Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company before being brought into Ukraine via land roads, according to the sources.

In an interview with RT in June, Sudanese Foreign Ministry official Muhammad Al-Sirr accused Ukraine of providing weapons and assisting the RSF in Sudan, as well as armed groups in Libya, Somalia, and Niger.

There has been a spike in tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan after the deaths of two Azerbaijani nationals suspected of being gang members during a police raid in the Russian city of Ekaterinburg in June. In response, Azerbaijani police raided the local office of the Russian news network Sputnik, detaining two journalists along with several other Russian nationals. Baku also suspended multiple Russia-related cultural events.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that "there are problems" in relations between the two neighboring countries, but stressed that "the mutual interest in their development will ultimately put everything in its place."

(RT.com)