Artillery shells produced by Indian arms manufacturers have been redirected by European buyers to Ukraine, despite Russia's protests. According to multiple government and defense industry sources, the transfer has been ongoing for over a year, with no intervention from New Delhi.
India's arms export rules restrict the use of weaponry to the declared purchaser, warning that unauthorized transfers could jeopardize future sales. Despite these regulations, Indian artillery shells have reached Ukraine via European countries like Italy and the Czech Republic.
Russia has raised concerns about these transfers, including during a meeting in July between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Indian counterpart. Despite this, India has not taken steps to halt the trade. Two Indian government officials acknowledged that the country's contribution to Ukraine’s ammunition supplies was minimal, accounting for less than 1% of the total arms imported by Kyiv since the war began.
Countries like Italy and the Czech Republic have played a role in supplying Indian-made shells to Ukraine. The munitions have also been linked to Yantra India, a state-owned company whose artillery products are in use in Ukraine. Despite monitoring the situation, Indian officials and defense industry insiders stated that India has not taken action to block supplies to Europe.
While India maintains close ties with Russia, it has also strengthened defense cooperation with Western nations, particularly the U.S., against the backdrop of rising tensions with China. India, historically one of the world’s largest arms importers, is also looking to expand its arms export sector, viewing the ongoing war as an opportunity.
India exported over $3 billion in arms between 2018 and 2023. In the last fiscal year alone, defense exports surpassed $2.5 billion, with the country targeting $6 billion by 2029. Custom records show significant growth in the export of ammunition components to European countries, increasing from $2.8 million before February 2022 to $135.25 million by July 2024.
Among the companies involved, an Italian contractor, Meccanica per l'Elettronica e Servomeccanismi (MES), has been purchasing Indian-made shells and shipping them to Ukraine. MES, Yantra's biggest foreign client, buys empty shells from India and fills them with explosives. While other Western firms have the capacity to fill shells, they lack the manufacturing capability, making India a key supplier.
Further evidence of these transfers includes customs records showing that MES shipped over $35 million worth of empty artillery shells to Italy between February 2022 and July 2024. Additionally, a UK-based company linked to MES exported ammunition to Ukraine in 2024.
In another instance, Spanish officials confirmed that ammunition shells produced by Munitions India were transferred to Ukraine through a Czech arms dealer. A Spanish newspaper had earlier reported that a shipment of Indian-made arms, originally suspected to be headed for Israel, was destined for Ukraine.
Despite Russia being a long-time partner and supplier of over 60% of India’s arms imports, India has not acted to curb the European transfers to Ukraine.
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