The Russian diplomat’s comments come as Kiev ramps up its demands for more military aid, citing acute shortages in hardware and ammunition. The US and its allies have also been seeking to approve further financial and military support for Ukraine.

Speaking at a roundtable meeting with the heads of foreign diplomatic missions in Moscow on Tuesday, Lavrov stated that Russia has been in contact with “certain countries” that the West has been trying to convince to hand over Russia-supplied weapons to Ukraine, without informing Moscow of such transfers.

The minister noted that there have been “several cases of this kind” recorded by Moscow over the past year and a half, and stressed that Russia will continue to demand that all international obligations regarding weapons transfers be observed.

Lavrov pointed out that when a foreign country legally acquires Russian arms, the shipments come with a certain package of documents, including an end-user certificate.

“In accordance with this certificate, the recipient of the weapon does not have the right to resell it or redirect it anywhere without the consent of the supplier country,” the minister explained.

At the same time, Russia’s top diplomat added that the West has been pretending not to notice that its own weapons, which it has supplied to Ukraine, have already spread to war zones across the world, where they are frequently being used by extremists and terrorists.

“The weapons that the West supplies to the Ukrainian regime have been found not only in conflict zones in the Middle East, but in illegal shipments that have been recorded in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Gaza,” Lavrov stated.

Last week, speaking at a UN Security Council meeting, Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s claims that Kiev has been reselling Western weapons on the black market, and expressed disbelief that Ukraine’s backers were unaware of this.

Russia has repeatedly condemned Western weapons deliveries to Ukraine, insisting that such shipments only serve to prolong the fighting and lead to more bloodshed without affecting the eventual outcome.

The Il-76 went down over Russia’s Belgorod Region, which borders Ukraine, last Wednesday. All of those on board – 65 captured Ukrainian servicemen, six crew members, and three Russian soldiers – were killed in the crash. The Russian Defense Ministry has insisted that the plane was shot down by Kiev’s forces, who it says were informed ahead of time that the aircraft would be transporting POWs for a prisoner exchange later in the day.

While an investigation is ongoing, a source within the Russian security services has told TASS that data obtained from the aircraft’s black boxes “excludes all other possible versions of the Il-76 crash and confirms that the plane was subjected to external influence”, clarifying that it was “shot down in the air”.

“Everything is obvious,” the source stated, noting that analysis of the black box data is nearing completion.

Kiev has confirmed that a prisoner swap was scheduled to take place the day the aircraft was brought down, although Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the GUR, has insisted that it was not informed about how the POWs would be transferred to the exchange site.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has announcedd it considers all Russian military aircraft legitimate targets and will continue to do so. Several sources from Kiev’s armed forces also suggested shortly after the crash that they believed the Il-76 to have been transporting S-300 missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to confirm his forces were responsible for bringing down the plane and has called for an international probe into the incident.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed last week that the GUR was informed that the Il-76 was carrying POWs, but nevertheless chose to shoot the plane down.

“The entire current Kiev regime is based on crimes committed daily, including against its own citizens,” Putin said, adding, “The [GUR] knew that we were transporting 65 military personnel there… and knowing this, they struck the plane.”

The Russian leader also stated evidence found at the crash site suggested that the plane was shot down using an American or French air-defense missile, adding that the full picture “will become clear in a couple of days”.