Ukraine says it has busted a scheme to steal military equipment for illicit sales in Kyiv, allegedly at the behest of an “arms baron” implicated in weapons shipments from North Korea to Russia.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the State Bureau of Investigation detained two individuals who “had been stealing” parts for military equipment like night-vision devices, optical sights, dosimeters and engines, the SSU said in a press release on Thursday.

The two individuals operated under the direction of a “foreign client” who the SSU described as a “sanctioned arms dealer originally from an Eastern European country,” stating