Ammunition From India Diverted To Ukraine? What Government Said

Dismissing a report by news agency Reuters claiming that ammunition sold by Indian manufacturers has been diverted to Ukraine by European customers and New Delhi did not stop the trade, the Ministry of External Affairs has termed it “inaccurate and mischievous”. 

Answering questions on the report, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday, “We have seen the Reuters report. It is speculative and misleading. It implies violations by India, where none exist and, hence, is inaccurate and mischievous.

Emphasising that India has an impeccable track record of compliance with international obligations on the export of military and dual-use items, Mr Jaiswal added, “India has been carrying out its defence exports taking into account its international obligations on non-proliferation and based on its own robust legal and regulatory framework, which includes a holistic assessment of relevant criteria, including end-user obligations and certifications.”

In its report, Reuters cited conversations with eleven Indian and European government and defence industry officials and an analysis of commercially available customs data to claim that artillery shells sold by Indian arms manufacturers had been diverted to Ukraine by European customers and the Indian government did not intervene to stop the trade despite protests from Moscow.

The report said the supply of munitions, which have helped Ukraine in the war against Russia, had been happening for over a year and the Kremlin had raised the issue with India at least twice, including in July, during a meeting between Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. 

It said Indian arms export regulations specify that weaponry can be used only by the declared purchaser and future sales to them can be stopped if there are unauthorised transfers. 

“Two Indian government and two defence industry sources told Reuters that Delhi produced only a very small amount of the ammunition being used by Ukraine, with one official estimating that it was under 1% of the total arms imported by Kyiv since the war. The news agency couldn’t determine if the munitions were resold or donated to Kyiv by the European customers,” the report said.

“Among the European countries sending Indian munitions to Ukraine are Italy and the Czech Republic, which is leading an initiative to supply Kyiv with artillery shells from outside the European Union, according to a Spanish and a senior Indian official, as well as a former top executive at Yantra India, a state-owned company whose munitions are being used by Ukraine,” it added.