Inside the world of Ukraine’s private arms dealers

Military vehicles for Ukraine’s war effort, sold by private arms dealers based in the UK, have soared since Vladimir Putin’s Russia launched a full scale invasion last year.

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As Ukraine’s forces have scrambled to arm themselves in the face of Russia’s onslaught, with towns like Bakhmut and Avdiivka now under daily attack in the war, the demand for weapons has never been higher.

British businessman Nick Mead spent decades buying military vehicles from the UK Ministry of Defence for his entertainment company Tanks A Lot, but since February 2022, Ukrainians desperate for armour have been buying them off him.

We followed 25 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) from Nick’s farm in Northamptonshire to the front lines in Ukraine.

But Nick’s vehicles are not the only ones on the road.

More than £30 million worth of military vehicles were shipped to Ukraine from the UK between April and September 2022 alone, according to government data, while in the whole of 2021 only £37,000 worth of vehicles were sold, in 2020 it was £550,000 and in 2019 nothing was sold.

But, the soaring demand for British armoured vehicles has driven prices up, leading some to accuse sellers of profiteering.

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