It’s less “surplus” and more stolen. Supply officers figuring out they can sell the gear coming through their post and make multiple times their annual salary from selling them to surplus groups. A lot of poorer countries have that problem, iirc it was a significant part of why the US wasn’t willing to supply the Afghan military with tech.
Wait, Russian still sells military surplus even though they’re currently at war and have trouble equipping their conscripts?
It’s less “surplus” and more stolen. Supply officers figuring out they can sell the gear coming through their post and make multiple times their annual salary from selling them to surplus groups. A lot of poorer countries have that problem, iirc it was a significant part of why the US wasn’t willing to supply the Afghan military with tech.