Russian customs officers impound containers transporting Ukrainian military uniforms

MOSCOW

The Russian Federal Customs Service said on Friday that it detained on its territory containers with uniforms for Ukrainian troops that were on a transit route through China to Poland.

The documents accompanying the cargo claimed it was sportswear, but during an inspection at the Zabaikalsk railway checkpoint in the Russian Far East, the customs officers became suspicious about the contents of the boxes, head of the local customs office Vladimir Ignatiev told a news conference in the city of Chita.

"At the railway checkpoint, all containers are being scanned. And the scanning showed that they are not exactly sportswear in terms of fabric density and other parameters. One container was randomly chosen, and opened, and there were bags with addresses to Ukraine. They were packed with uniforms with the symbols of the Ukrainian army," he said.

A total of eight containers have been impounded, and their contents are being checked, Ignatiev said.

"The manufacturer is not indicated on the tags, but it is written in Ukrainian that it is a military uniform. We will continue to inspect it for about another week," he said.

Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022. The West took Ukraine's side and has been providing unprecedented economic, humanitarian and economic assistance to Kyiv ever since. Most of the cargo come to Ukraine via Poland.