The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has reported that the information regarding the alleged smuggling of Ukrainian small arms to Finland turned out to be fake; the Finnish news outlet, which posted an interview with such a statement, is currently getting ready to retract it.
Source: Department of Communication of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Ukraine
Quote: “Kremlin campaigners willingly provoke the creation of dangerous myths and fictions regarding the state of affairs in Ukraine.
The most recent example of such an information “subterfuge” with such an obvious objective appeared in the Finnish press. It is about an interview of the Yle news outlet with Christer Ahlgren, Detective Superintendent of National Bureau of Investigation of Finland (Keskusrikospoliisi)
The journalist claims that Ahlgren reported that there was certain data coming from the criminal police of Finland about the probability of small arms intended for the Ukrainian military getting to criminal groups in this country. Moreover, the interview says that these firearms are already in Finland, and they are found in other Scandinavian countries.
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry immediately launched the procedure of verification of the data presented in this material that came from its Finnish colleagues.
The latter denied the existence of facts of seizure of such weapons of Ukrainian origin In Finland.
The above-mentioned Finnish news outlet is already preparing a corresponding reasonable denial of previously posted information, because there is a reasonable ground to believe that the information presented in the article “is somewhat made up by the journalist and does not correspond to the words of the police representative who was interviewed.”
The representatives of law enforcement agencies of other countries confirmed the lack of information regarding the existence of a similar channel of illegal transfer of small arms from Ukraine.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has sent a request to Finland, Sweden, and Denmark using the Europol communication system to check the information stated in the interview.”
Details: The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine notes that Russian propaganda often uses the fruits of the labour of foreign journalists who use unverified sources, rumours from the Internet, irrational assumptions, and opinions of experts affiliated with pro-Russian positions.
Background:
On 30 October, in an interview with Yle news outlet, Christer Ahlgren, Detective Superintendent of National Bureau of Investigation of Finland (Keskusrikospoliisi), said that the criminal police of Finland have data indicating that small arms intended for the Ukrainian military may have found their way into criminal gangs in Finland.
