In an interview with state-controlled RT, the arm dealer said he ’never understood‘ why Russia didn’t move earlier into Ukraine.
Viktor Bout, the notorious arm dealer who was freed by the U.S. in a high-profile prisoner exchange with Russia this week, was reported by Moscow-based news site Gazeta.ru as saying that he would volunteer to fight in Ukraine if possible.
On Saturday, Gazeta—whose holding company Rambler Media Group passed under the sole ownership of state-owned company Sberbank in 2020—wrote on Twitter that Bout had said about the „special operation“ in Ukraine: „If I had the opportunity and the necessary skills, I would, of course, volunteer.“
The tweet referred to an article Gazeta.ru published on the same day, quoting an interview Bout gave to state-controlled international news media Russia Today (RT) after his return to Moscow. After the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, RT was banned by the entire European Union and Canada.
