Sat, 06 Jun 2026 Berlin 23:46 DE / UKR / EN

Frontex warns of arms smuggling from Ukraine after the end of the war

Lars Gerdes, the deputy head of the EU border agency Frontex, considers the risk of arms smuggling from Ukraine into the EU after the end of the Russian invasion to be "high." He made these remarks in an interview with the newspaper WELT.

Frontex warns of arms smuggling from Ukraine after the end of the war
Photo: presse-augsburg.de

According to Politico Europe, citing an interview with WELT, Frontex Deputy Director Lars Gerdes warned of potential security issues for Europe. "There could be arms smuggling on a larger scale. This could become a security problem for Europe," said the German official.

Gerdes drew a comparison to the situation in the former Yugoslavia, where illegal weapons made their way into the rest of Europe after the fighting ended. "I consider the risk to be particularly high after a ceasefire or peace agreement," Gerdes stated. At that point, large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and explosives would be in the country—along with many people in need of money.

Frontex has increased its presence along Ukraine's western borders and is closely monitoring the situation. "We have been preparing for this since the beginning of the war," Gerdes explained. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has been ongoing since February 2022.

Source: www.politico.eu