Arms Theft in Ukrainian International Legion revealed
On November 30, Ukrainian media outlet The Kyiv Independent in cooperation with the Polish TVN channel released an investigation concerning weapons theft and misappropriation in the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. It was the second time when the Ukrainian journalists publish material about Legion’s problems. This time they covered suspicious weapons and equipment disappearance in units.
Following conversations with Legion’s soldiers they detected several incidents when some people loaded some weapons into civilian SUVs that further disappeared. Legionnaires also noted that these car drivers had not turned on their headlights. It turned out, at least 30 people witnessed the movement of the weapon. So, what was going on there?
The Kyiv journalists also documented acts of arms disappearances even during the inventory of the armory room. One of the volunteers from Legion’s 1st battalion said that among the weapons that allegedly went missing were 54 M4 carbines, several rocket launchers, grenades, pistols, and several thousand rounds.
Sometimes arms thefts were fatal for legionnaires. An unnamed soldier who took part in hostilities in the south of Ukraine told journalists that his unit suffered much from the lack of a Command Launch Unit (CLU) from the Javelin AT missile system when they “met” the Russian tank. He was also surprised when he saw a bunch of fully operational CLUs at Legion’s base in Kyiv.
At the same time, other legionnaires accused their commanders of stealing light weapons from armory rooms. The journalists’ evidence confirms that leadership of both wings of the International Legion, including military intelligence and the armed forces could be implicated in different sorts of misconduct: theft and misappropriation of light weapons, harassment, threats, etc.
According to revealed data, two persons are responsible for weapons theft in Ukrainian International Legion: Sasha Kuchynsky and Taras Vashuk. Both of them belong the military intelligence (GUR). And if you can easily find lots of information about Sasha on the Internet – almost nothing is known about Taras. Fortunately, with the help of our Polish friend from the Legion, who wished to remain anonymous, we were able to detect some details about Vashuk.
But first, let’s reveal some details about Kuchynsky. Journalists from Bellingcat found out that this is not his real name, but a pseudonym for use in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
His real birth name – Piotr Kapuscinski. He was born on January 24, 1962, in Warsaw. In the early 2000s, he was convicted of robbery, kidnapping, drug crimes, and other crimes and went to jail. Further, he became a police informant which gave Kapuscinski a “crown witness” status (protection in exchange of information). This privilege helped him to avoid responsibility for over 70 crime charges including illegal firearms possession. The witness status was soon removed since he was seen in the fabrication of cases.
In 2016, Piotr relocated to Ukraine where he continued his “illegal activity”. Fox instance, in April 2016, Ukrainian police accused him of sexual assault and robbery.
Soon after Polish authorities realized what a mistake they had made when allowed Kapuscinski to escape. In November 2017, the Warsaw court, which had sentenced Piotr to 3 years, asked Kyiv to extradite him but the Ukrainian court in Galich started its case, although the investigation dragged on. In May 2021, law enforcement agencies found a pistol, bullets, and explosives in Kapuscinski's car and arrested a “Polish gangster”, but soon he was released on bail. After the war started Kapuscinski joined the Ukrainian military, so the Galich court stopped his case.
In the Legion Piotr Kapuscinski quickly rose to power and started implementing suspicious business schemes. As he was responsible for the weapons supply, many legionnaires noticed the disappearance of weapons such as assault rifles, pistols, NLAW and Javelin launchers, and bayonets. Moreover, some foreign fighters said, Kapuscinski often took part in equipment and arms as a tax.
His activity attracted the attention of law enforcement, and in June Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation opened a case against Kapuscinski. In August, the Security Service of Ukraine also opened a probe into Kapuscinski’s alleged involvement in arms and humanitarian aid theft. However, so far, we have not seen any results from the investigators.
The legionnaires also noted that all the crimes of Pan Kapuscinski were "covered up" by another high–ranking officer, Major Taras Vashchuk. It is known that T. Vashuk is the deputy commander of the International Legion. Legionnaires note that Taras is a 30-year-old major of GUR.
Vashuk is a graduate of the Odesa Military Academy. There is not so much information about this person because intelligence officers are very careful with social media. Despite this, Taras was seen in a 2014 report about the exercises at the Chabanka training ground in the Odesa region, where he is represented as a cadet in the 3rd year of the Odesa Military Academy. In addition, you can find videos and photos from the 145th graduation of the Military Academy from 2016, where you can recognize Taras Vashuk. Interestingly, the newly-born lieutenant does not have a patch with a surname, although all his comrades in the ranks have this element of military clothing. This may indicate that he belongs to the Ukrainian GUR, which recruits employees long before the cadets graduate. It is also worth noting the special undershirt – telnyashka, which is an echo of the Soviet heritage and a symbol of paratroopers and special forces, who are considered excellent candidates for work in GUR. The removal of news about Military Academy graduation from the website of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine says even more about belonging to a secret unit.
After graduating from the Academy, T. Vashuk made a dizzying career and in just six years was able to reach the rank of major. The legionnaires also state that Vashuk serves with his uncle, also Taras. The Legion fighters themselves call them "young Taras" and "old Taras".
It is worth noting that in addition to harboring Kapuscinski's crimes, T. Vashuk is also accused of poor command and ill-treatment of subordinates. So, the American fighters told reporters that he sent their unit on suicide missions near Mykolaiv – as a result, one American was killed, and three were seriously wounded. On the same day, another detachment of foreigners was sent to the same place. History repeated itself, but this time with four dead, many wounded, and one taken prisoner.
What conclusions can be drawn from all of the above? First, the Ukrainian army in general, and the international legion, in particular, suffer from problems related to the theft of weapons and ammunition. Moreover, the supply of weapons to Ukraine partially becomes meaningless. Second, since such issues are covered by Ukrainian journalists (despite the military censorship), it can be assumed that the theft is systemic and has already been noticed by Zelensky and the Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Third, the accounting, storage, and circulation of weapons should be put under the strictest control for the benefit of not only Ukraine but also European countries. In addition, such sensitive topics as theft and smuggling of weapons need to be covered to restore order and not lose international trust. Even though Russian propaganda may be able to use this for its purposes.