Ukraine becomes world’s largest importer of weapons, almost half of them supplied by US
Pravda Ukraine
Ukraine has topped the list of the world’s largest importers of major types of weapons in 2020-2024. Its imports increased almost 100 times compared to 2015-2019.
Source: a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Details: Ukraine became the only European country in the top 10 arms importers. Meanwhile, many other European countries have also significantly increased their arms purchases in recent years.
Overall, the volume of international arms transfers remained at the level of previous periods, but the regional situation has changed. Demand for arms has increased in Europe and the Americas, while in other parts of the world it has declined.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, at least 35 countries supplied weapons to Ukraine. In 2020-2024, the country received 8.8% of global arms imports. The main suppliers were the United States (45% of supplies), Germany (12%) and Poland (11%).
Arms imports by European NATO members more than doubled between 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 (+105%). The United States supplied 64% of these weapons, a significant increase from 52% in 2015-2019. Other major suppliers were France and South Korea (6.5% each), Germany (4.7%) and Israel (3.9%).
The top ten arms exporters are the same as in 2015-2019. Nevertheless, France (9.6% of the global market) overtook Russia (7.8%) to take second place, and Italy (4.8%) moved up from 10th to 6th place.
Ukraine ranked 20th in the list of exporters, recording a 72% drop in sales compared to the previous five years. Before 2022, the main recipients of Ukrainian arms were China (67% of exports), India (15%), and Pakistan (5.3%). After the start of the full-scale war, Kyiv stopped exporting arms.
Background:
- In the period from 2019 to 2023, Ukraine became the largest importer of arms in Europe, while Russian arms exports decreased by 53% over the same period.
- Ukraine’s arms imports have increased by 6,633% over the past five years.
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