Last year, Ukraine ranked third among arms importers in the world, ahead of only Qatar and India. This is stated in a report published by the research institute SIPRI in Stockholm.
Ukraine accounts for 2% of the worldʼs arms imports over a five-year period.
According to the report of 29 states that supplied arms to Ukraine in 2022, the main suppliers were the United States, which accounted for 35% of total Ukrainian arms imports during the year, Poland (17%), Germany (11%), Great Britain (10% ) and the Czech Republic (4.4%).
In many cases, the supply of arms by one state was financed by other states or by the European Union through the European Peace Fund. In particular, by the end of 2022, the EU has allocated €3.1 billion for military equipment for Ukraine.
According to experts, the US share in world arms exports increased from 33% to 40%, Franceʼs share from 7.1% to 11%, while Russiaʼs share decreased from 22% to 16%.
Russia reduced exports to 8 of its 10 main buyer countries. Over the past five years, India has sold 37% less weapons, while exports to seven other countries have declined by an average of 59%. At the same time, the Russian Federation increased arms exports to China (by 39%) and Egypt (by 44%).
"While arms shipments have declined globally, shipments to Europe have increased dramatically due to tensions between Russia and most European states," noted SIPRIʼs senior research fellow on arms transfers Peter D. Wezeman.