European arms imports nearly double over Ukraine war: Study
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Sipri noted that at least 30 countries had supplied major weapons as military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.
PHOTO: AFP
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STOCKHOLM – Weapons imports to Europe nearly doubled over the past five years, partly due to the war in Ukraine, while exports from Russia halved, researchers said on March 11.
Ukraine has become the world’s fourth-largest arms importer
Arms imports to Europe rose by 94 per cent in 2019 to 2023, compared with the preceding five-year period, while overall global arms transfers decreased slightly, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).
Sipri prefers to analyse trends over half-decades, as a few deliveries of major contracts can tilt yearly figures.
The increase is “partially explained by the war in Ukraine, and Ukraine has become the fourth-largest importer of arms in the world in the last five years”, Sipri researcher Katarina Djokic told AFP.
Sipri noted that at least 30 countries had supplied major weapons as military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022
But other European nations also increased imports, with a larger share coming from the world’s No. 1 exporter of arms, the US.
In the 2019 to 2023 period, 55 per cent of imports to Europe were from the US, up from 35 per cent in the 2014 to 2018 period.
This is partly due to most European states being Nato members and partners of the US in the development of weapon systems like the F-35 fighter jet, Ms Djokic said.
At the same time, increased imports from the US underlined many European nations’ desire to quickly acquire weapons and therefore buy “off-the-shelf” rather than develop new systems.
Globally, US exports grew by 17 per cent in the period, bringing its share of total arms exports to 42 per cent.
Meanwhile, Russia – which long held the position as the second-largest exporter – saw its exports fall by 53 per cent between 2014 to 2018 and 2019 to 2023.
Russia was not only exporting fewer weapons, but also it was exporting to fewer recipients.
It exported to only 12 countries in 2023, compared with 31 in 2019.
“There are also important changes in the policies of their biggest customer, China,” Ms Djokic said.
China was traditionally one of the biggest recipients of Russian arms but has been pushing to develop its domestic production.
China still accounted for 21 per cent of Russian exports, while India was the biggest recipient with 34 per cent.
While Russia’s exports declined, France saw its own grow by 47 per cent, thereby narrowly edging out Russia to become the world’s second-largest exporter.
Violations of humanitarian law
France accounted for 11 per cent of total weapons exports in 2019 to 2023.
In particular, Ms Djokic noted that France had been particularly successful in selling its Rafale fighter jet outside Europe.
The war in Gaza – which began in retaliation for Hamas’s Oct 7 attack on southern Israel
This is primarily through transfers of weapons from the US, either via new military aid or the speeding up of already existing contracts, according to Sipri researcher Zain Hussain.
Mr Hussain cautioned that the longer term impact of the conflict was harder to predict.
“We already see in certain European states a kind of push by different actors or states to limit arms to Israel during its (military) operations in Gaza due to potential violations of international humanitarian law,” Mr Hussain said.
Such measures could affect transfers to Israel.
The question then remains whether they would remain in place after the end of Israel’s current ground and air assault on Gaza, Mr Hussain explained. AFP
