France, Germany, and Italy skirted around an arms embargo in order to supply weaponry to Vladimir Putin, who is slaughtering Ukrainians.

On a day of embarrassment for the EU, it was revealed that 10 EU member nations sold Russia hundreds of millions of pounds worth of military equipment between 2015 and 2020.

Bombs, rockets, and explosives were transported from Paris, along with thermal imaging cameras for 1,000 tanks and infrared detectors for planes.

Berlin sold “dual-use equipment,” such as weapons, “special protection” vehicles, and icebreaker vessels, while Rome supplied armoured cars.

In 2014, EU member states, including then-member Britain, imposed a weapons embargo on Russia in response to its invasion of Crimea.

However, a loophole permitted countries and businesses to complete contracts with Russia that they had previously inked.

Following the restriction, the EU27 nations awarded over 1,000 licences, according to an investigation by Investigate Europe.

Following that, France sold £130 million worth of military equipment to the Kremlin, Germany made £100 million, and Italy made £19 million.

In 2015, Rome approved the sale to Moscow of Lynce military all-terrain vehicles, which have been observed in Ukraine since the conflict began, according to Italian television channel La7.

Despite the EU’s ban on weapon sales, the investigative website Disclose alleges that France gave 76 military export licences to Russia between 2015 and 2020.

According to an investigation by Investigate Europe, 10 EU member states continued to supply weapons to Russia after the embargo was lifted, including Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, Slovakia, and Spain.

According to data from the EU Council Working Party on Conventional Arms Exports, 10 EU countries supplied military equipment to Russia totalling £291 million between 2015 and 2020.

France is said to have contributed 44% of sales out of the ten, with aeroplanes, navigation systems, torpedoes, and missiles among the items provided.

Pressure forced French President François Hollande to abandon plans to sell two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships to Russia in 2015, but subsequent French governments exploited the loophole.

After the embargo was enforced, Britain shipped weaponry to Russia, but only for £1.7 million.

After avoiding the Russian arms embargo, Germany was chastised by Kyiv’s mayor for agreeing to deliver 5,000 helmets to aid Ukrainian forces fighting Putin’s forces.

Vitali Klitschko, a former boxer turned politician, mocked the suggestion, asking whether the country would rather send pillows instead of weapons because Berlin refused to give weaponry to Ukraine.

However, just days after the invasion, Germany caved to pressure and altered its long-standing policy of not sending weapons to conflict zones, offering Ukraine 1,000 anti-tank weaponry and 500 Stinger anti-aircraft defence systems.

Meanwhile, with the US estimating that 30,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or arrested since the battle began, rebellious Ukrainians have begun stealing Russian weapons to use against them as the war enters its fourth week.

As Russian forces continue to bomb key cities, Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded with European politicians to supply additional weaponry to assist Ukrainians in their persistent defence of their homeland.

On Tuesday, the valiant commander begged Joint Expeditionary Force officials to “help yourself by helping us” by deploying more equipment.

“We all are the targets of Russia and everything will go against Europe if Ukraine won’t stand, so I would like to ask you to help yourself by helping us. ,” Zelensky said.

“You know the weapons we need. You know what kind of defence measures we need. You know that our need is fighter jets and without your support it would be very difficult

“‘We want you to help us and I would hope that you will be able to enhance that support and you will see how this will protect your security, your safety and how that will make a stable peace not only for us but for your countries.”

According to Zelensky, shipments of supplies from European countries are swiftly depleted as Ukrainian forces put captured Russian weapons and machinery to use.

It comes as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has asked Washington and NATO partners to enforce a no-fly zone to prevent “Russia wouldn’t be able to terrorise our free cities”.

He addressed Joe Biden directly, saying: “I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.”

Biden and Nato have opposed Zelensky’s calls for military action against Russia, saying that it could result in a third World War.

But, in addition to the £10.3 billion in the military and humanitarian aid already approved, US President Donald Trump revealed his latest package of help to Ukraine this week.

Long-range missile defence and Switchblade armed drones will be provided by the US, allowing Kyiv’s soldiers to better protect against Russian aircraft from afar.

In addition, the West has increased the number of deadly weaponry it is sending to Ukraine, including Bayraktar TB2 drones, Stinger missiles, and portable anti-tank weapons.

It comes as Putin’s forces intensify their attack on key towns, with new missile strikes and shelling on the outskirts of Kyiv and Lviv in western Ukraine.

After a strike early Friday, black smoke billowed outside Lviv for hours, according to the mayor, which damaged a facility for repairing military aircraft near the city’s international airport as well as a bus repair facility.

Early morning shelling also rocked the capital’s northern outskirts, with at least one person dead, according to emergency services, in Podil, a neighbourhood just north of central Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Mariupol is being demolished by a squadron of 25 Russian bombers that fly sorties over the city every day, destroying or damaging 90% of the city’s buildings.

Around 14,000 elite Russian forces surround the city, with many of the 400,000 citizens surviving by drinking from puddles for the 17th day without power or running water.

Bodies litter the streets, while others have been buried in mass graves because funerals are impossible to hold due to the constant shelling.

A theatre harbouring around 1,000 women and children was blasted by brutal Russian troops on Wednesday, with the fate of those cowering within still unknown.

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