Weapon Shop | WSJ: ‘Merchant of Death’ Viktor But now sells arms to Houthi rebels

Russian arms dealer Viktor But seeks to deliver weapons to Yemen’s Houthis, US newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday. According to the newspaper’s sources, But has negotiated with the Houthis about the $10 million sale of automatic weapons in Russia in August. According to the WSJ, the possible shipment of weapons has not yet been delivered.

President of the United States Joe Biden the administration has been concerned that Russia would arm the Houthis with advanced equipment such as anti-aircraft missiles. They could become a “significant threat” to the United States, WSJ writes.

However, the United States would not approve even small arms shipments from Russia to the Houthis. Yemen’s Houthis support Iran in the Middle East conflict. The Houthis have attacked Israel with missiles and drones. The US, on the other hand, supports Israel. The United States has defined the Houthis as a terrorist organization.

But has commented on the arms trade allegations to the Russian state news agency Tassi. According to him, it is a “groundless accusation”, WSJ reports.

The WSJ’s sources did not have information on whether the trade deal was made at the request of the Kremlin or whether the deal was tacitly approved by the Kremlin. The WSJ was unable to determine who made the planned arms purchase. However, the Houthis have been looking for Russian-made weapons.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the matter on Monday, the WSJ says, referring to Tassi.

“We are inclined to classify it as fake news or an information attack against our elected representatives,” Peskov said.

According to the WSJ, the Houthis have not commented on the matter.

of the WSJ according to the first two shipments will be largely assault rifles. According to the sources, representatives of the Houthis also talked about another type of equipment that Russia could possibly sell them. The talks included missiles and anti-aircraft weapons.

According to sources, the arms export could start in October. The weapons would be taken to the port of Hodeida in Yemen. According to sources, the transports would be disguised as food transports.

ButIA is called the “merchant of death” because he has sold weapons to rogue states, rebel groups and warlords. Buti has more than 10 years of experience in the arms trade: he sold Soviet-made weapons in Africa, South America and the Middle East before the end of the 2010s. In 2008, But was arrested in the United States.

But was released from a US prison in a prisoner exchange in 2022. He was traded for a US basketball star to Brittney Griner. After his release, he focused on politics for a while, but has now returned to arms sales after a couple of years of silence.