Artillery shells manufactured by Indian defence companies are being sent to Ukraine through European intermediaries. Reuters reported this with reference to as many as 11 representatives of the Indian and European governments and the defence industry, according to Komersant ukrainskyi
At the same time, New Delhi does not respond to Russia’s protests and irritation and does not interfere in this process.
The redirection of Indian ammunition to support Ukraine’s defence has been going on for more than a year, the agency’s sources say. Indian ammunition is purchased by European countries such as Italy and the Czech Republic, among others, and sent to Ukraine.
India’s arms export regulations restrict its use to officially declared buyers, who risk losing further contracts if unauthorised transfers take place. However, India has not taken any steps to stop these deals. According to Indian officials, New Delhi is monitoring the situation, but has not yet taken steps to stop the transfers. India sees this as an opportunity to develop its own arms export sector, which is a priority for the country amid the ongoing war in Europe.
Customs data show a significant increase in ammunition exports from India to Europe since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. During this time, India supplied not only ammunition components, but also completed projectiles.
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Although Russia remains an important partner for India in defence cooperation, experts note that India is not ready to completely abandon arms exports to Russia, seeking to demonstrate neutrality and profitable commercial opportunities in international conflicts.
Russia has raised the issue of Indian ammunition supplies to Ukraine several times, including during a meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers in July this year. However, India has not yet made any official statements or actions to stop these supplies.
India is one of the countries that benefits most from not joining the anti-Russian sanctions. Over the years of the full-scale war in Ukraine, it has overtaken China to become the largest buyer of Russian oil. The amount of oil India buys from Russia has increased from statistically insignificant levels in the 2021-2022 financial year to more than 1.5 million barrels per day in 2023-2024, which is a third of all oil purchased by the country. India also cooperates with Russia in military-technical terms.
Nevertheless, a month ago, the head of the Indian government paid his first-ever visit to Ukraine.