Doubling of arms imports to Europe after the Ukraine war

Arms imports to Europe have almost doubled in the past five years, increasing because of the war in Ukraine, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published on Monday. Meanwhile, Russian exports have halved.

According to the report of the official French news agency, this institute announced that Ukraine has become the fourth largest importer of weapons in the world and France has replaced Russia as the second largest exporter in the world after the United States.

According to this institute, during a period between 2019 and 2023, the import of weapons to Europe has increased by 94% compared to the previous five years. SIPRI researcher Katarina Jokic told AFP that the increase was largely due to the war in Ukraine.

The report states that at least 30 countries have provided significant military aid to Ukraine since February 2022. But other European countries have also increased their imports, and a significant share of that was the United States, the largest arms exporter in the world. Between 2019 and 2023, 55% of imports to Europe have been made from this country, which has increased by 35% compared to the period from 2014 to 2018.

Jokic said this is partly because most European countries are NATO members and partners in the development of military equipment such as the F-35 fighter jet. This jump in US arms imports reflects the Europeans’ rush to acquire weapons as quickly as possible, at a price that may mean they are not focusing on developing new military systems.

Overall, US exports increased by 17% over the observed period, accounting for 42% of total global arms exports. This is no longer the case for Russia, long the world’s second-largest arms exporter, which saw its exports drop by 53 percent between 2014 and 2023. Not only is Moscow exporting fewer weapons, it is also exporting to fewer countries as the data shows that Russia exported weapons to 31 countries in 2019 and 12 in 2023.