Melvin Ong faced death with equanimity, taking care to leave voice logs and blog posts for the soon-to-be bereaved, his brother said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with members of the country's Civic Chamber in Moscow, Russia, November 3, 2023. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS
"Now they say: weapons are getting into the Middle East from Ukraine. Well of course they are because they are being sold," Putin said."And they are being sold to the Taliban and from there they go onto wherever." Ukraine says it keeps tight control over any weapons supplied to it, but some Western security officials have raised concerns and the United States has asked Ukraine to do more to tackle the broader issue of corruption.
A report about the Ukraine war and the illegal arms trade by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said in March that there was"currently no substantial outflow of weapons from the Ukrainian conflict zone.