Did Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoodwink Joe Biden? Ukrainian military may have sold up to half of its U.S. provided weapons to drug cartels

Tucker Carlson, in his February 10, 2025 podcast, alleged that up to half of the U.S.-provided weapons intended for Ukraine are being sold on the black market, with some ending up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. The boldness of these claims has drawn attention, but the key question remains: Is there any truth to this?

Are Tucker Carlson’s claims based on facts?

Carlson repeatedly stressed that his accusations were “not speculation” but facts he knew for certain. He claimed that both U.S. intelligence agencies and the Ukrainian military were involved in this large-scale diversion of arms. However, he did not provide concrete proof for these statements. His assertion that news organizations could easily find Ukrainian weapons online raised even more skepticism, as such claims lacked specific sourcing or evidence to support them.

Has the U.S. government found evidence of weapon diversion?

Contrary to Carlson's claims, both the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DOD OIG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have found no evidence supporting the idea that U.S. weapons are being sold or diverted. Investigators have worked closely with Ukrainian officials and stationed personnel in key transfer locations such as Poland and Germany to monitor the flow of arms.


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Mollie Halpern of the DOD OIG confirmed, “Our latest Operation Atlantic Resolve report does not support” Carlson's allegations. This quarterly report specifically examined the oversight of weapon deliveries and ensured regular contact with investigators on the ground.

Is there a Russian disinformation campaign at play?

Experts, including Darren Linvill from Clemson University, point to Russian disinformation as a possible source of these claims. Russian propaganda outlets have previously pushed similar narratives, including a May 2023 story from RT claiming that U.S. weapons were found with Mexico’s Gulf Cartel. However, these allegations were debunked by independent fact-checkers, with the weapons in question identified as training models, not live arms.

What do U.S. officials and experts say?

Despite these claims making headlines, U.S. officials maintain that no credible evidence supports such diversions of arms to cartels or other unintended recipients. Both the DOD and GAO have repeatedly confirmed that proper oversight mechanisms are in place, and ongoing investigations have turned up no verifiable proof of fraud or weapon sales to third parties.

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FAQs:

Is Ukraine selling U.S.-provided weapons?
No credible evidence supports this claim.

Are U.S. weapons ending up with cartels?
There is no verified proof of this.