At the end of 2022, the USA and Russia exchanged US basketball player Brittney Grainer, imprisoned in Russia, for Buta, imprisoned in the USA. In 2011, former Soviet officer But was found guilty of arms smuggling in the United States and served a 25-year prison sentence.
Citing a European official and other sources, “The Wall Street Journal” reported that in August 2024, Bout took part in a deal to sell Kalashnikov assault rifles to Yemen‘s Houthis in Moscow for ten million US dollars. Deliveries are expected to begin this month, with the weapons being brought to the Yemeni port of Hudeidah under the guise of food shipments.
“The Wall Street Journal” refers to Buta as an intermediary in a deal made with two Houthi representatives who came to Moscow under the pretext of buying fertilizer and cars.
Sources familiar with the deal told the newspaper that they did not know whether the talks with the Houthis took place at the behest of the Kremlin or only with its “tacit consent.” The journalists also state that they have not been able to find out the source of the planned arms deliveries.
The newspaper’s interlocutors said the Houthis have also shown interest in other Russian weapons, such as anti-tank missiles and air defense systems.
2024-10-07 13:36:32