Ukraine now world’s largest arms importer, US dominates global exports: Report

In the past four years amid the war with Russia, Ukraine has emerged as the topmost importer of heavy weapons in the world, while the US has dominated global arms exports, as per the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) latest report released on Monday.

The report has revealed that Ukraine has been the largest recipient of heavy weapons in the world in the period from 2020-2024. The war-torn country has increased its imports by almost a hundred times as compared to its imports during 2015-2019.

Ukraine imported weapons from 35 countries between 2020 and 2024. Ukraine has imported 8.8 per cent of the total world imports between 2020-24. The US accounted for 45 per cent of all deliveries, followed by Germany with 12 per cent and Poland with 11 per cent.

Almost 9 per cent of all global arms exports ended up in Ukraine. The major reason for these imports by Ukraine has been the ongoing war with Russia, the report noted.

During the same period, arms imports from other European countries rose by 155 per cent, also being viewed as a direct consequence of Russia-Ukraine war that began in February 2022.

According to SIPRI researchers in Stockholm, the reason for this is also uncertainty about the future direction of US foreign policy.

Meanwhile, the report revealed that the US remains the biggest arms exporter of weapons worldwide and delivered to a total of 107 countries between 2020 and 2024.

“The US is in a unique position when it comes to arms exports. At 43 per cent, its share of global arms exports is more than four times as much as the next-largest exporter, France,” SIPRI editor Mathew George was quoted as saying in the report.

Russia, on the other hand, exported 63 per cent fewer weapons between 2015 and 2024, and in 2021 and 2022 the total volume was the lowest in the past two decades.

The main reason for this was Russia’s self-armament in preparation for war rather than selling weapons elsewhere.

“The war against Ukraine has further accelerated the drop in Russia’s arms exports because more weapons are needed on the battlefield, trade sanctions make it harder for Russia to produce and sell its weapons, and the US and its allies pressure states not to buy Russian arms,” the report said.

If the country was still selling weapons, it was mainly to China and India.