Over the past five years, Ukraine became the world’s largest arms importer.

On Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published a report showing that the war in Ukraine led to a sharp increase in U.S. arms sales over the past five years, a period during which Europe doubled its purchases, and Ukraine became the world’s largest arms importer.

RELATED:

Russia Liberates 3 Settlements in Kursk Region

The study, which compares the periods 2015-2019 and 2020-2024, also indicates that France has established itself as the world’s second-largest arms exporter, surpassing Russia, whose sales plummeted, and that the total volume of global arms trade decreased by 0.6%.

Ukraine’s imports increased a hundredfold between the two periods, allowing it to overtake India as the top importer, accounting for 8.8% of total purchases.

At least 35 countries have sent weapons to Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, and “substantial” deliveries are in preparation, SIPRI highlights, with the U.S. as the main supplier (45%), followed by Germany (12%) and Poland (11%).

Europe Increases Its Dependence

Over the past five years, the U.S. increased its arms sales by 21% and raised its share of the global market from 35% to 43%. For the first time in two decades, the primary recipient of U.S. weapons was not the Middle East (33%) but Europe (35%), although, by country, Saudi Arabia remains the top buyer with 12%.

“The U.S. is in a unique position when it comes to arms exports. With 43%, its share of the global market is four times that of the next-largest exporter, France,” the SIPRI report states.

European imports during this period rose by 155% (105% for NATO member countries), with 64% supplied by the United States, 12 percentage points more than in the previous five-year period.

Other suppliers of weapons to Europe were France and South Korea (both with 6.5%), Germany (4.7%), and Israel (3.9%). However, the SIPRI report notes that European NATO countries “have taken steps to reduce their dependence on arms imports and to strengthen the European arms industry.”

France has solidified its position as the world’s second-largest arms exporter, with a 9.6% share—one percentage point higher—and tripled its sales to other European countries, thanks to the delivery of fighter jets to Greece and Croatia and the shipment of weapons to Ukraine.

Decline in Russian and Chinese Sales

Russia, which accounted for 7.8% of global arms exports, experienced a 64% drop in sales—a trend that began in 2020—due to several factors, including its own battlefield needs, trade sanctions, and “pressure” from the U.S. and its allies on other countries not to buy Russian weapons.

India remains the main recipient of Russian arms exports, although it continues to reduce its dependence on Moscow, followed by China (17%) and Kazakhstan (11%).

China was the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, with a 5.9% share—down 5%—despite its “efforts” to increase sales. Italy saw a notable rise, moving from tenth to sixth place, just behind Germany, thanks to a 138% increase, capturing nearly 5% of the global market.

Asia-Oceania remains the largest arms-importing region, though its share declined from 41% to 33%, mainly due to reduced Chinese purchases. Arms imports to the Middle East fell by 20% over the past five years, though four of the world’s top ten importing countries are from the region (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Kuwait).

In the Americas, arms purchases increased by 13%, with the U.S. accounting for half of the region’s imports and Brazil increasing its share, which represents 49% of all South American imports, up by 77%. The main arms suppliers to South America were France (30%), the U.S. (12%), and the UK (11%).

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

EN ESTA NOTA: