India has sharply increased its exports of ammunition to European countries that are actively supporting Ukraine with weapons. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the volume of such supplies has reached at least $872 million. Bloomberg reports this, citing data from India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, writes UNN.
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For comparison, in the four years before Russia’s invasion, Indian manufacturers exported only $49.2 million worth of similar products to Europe. Thus, sales volumes increased 17.7-fold.
The exports include artillery shells, mortar rounds, explosives, and rocket propellant. About 75% of exports went to 13 Central and Eastern European countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, and the Baltic states.
India has become one of the largest ammunition suppliers to Europe
According to Trade Data Monitor, India rose from 28th to second place among suppliers of ammunition and components for it to Central and Eastern European countries, surpassed only by South Korea.
Even if Indian ammunition was not transferred directly to Ukraine, European states could have used it to replenish their own stocks while transferring their weapons to Kyiv.
Walter Ladwig, an expert at King’s College London, said that Russia’s invasion had created new demand, which Indian defense companies had taken advantage of. At the same time, New Delhi seeks to develop its own weapons production and reduce its dependence on imports, particularly from Russia.