Ukraine Becomes World’s 4th Largest Arms Importer

(FILES) Two Dassault Rafale fighter jets take off for a mission from Fetesti Air Base, in the commune Borcea, near the town of Fetesti, Romania on October 19, 2023. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP)
(FILES) Two Dassault Rafale fighter jets take off for a mission from Fetesti Air Base, in the commune Borcea, near the town of Fetesti, Romania on October 19, 2023. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP)
TT
20

Ukraine Becomes World’s 4th Largest Arms Importer

(FILES) Two Dassault Rafale fighter jets take off for a mission from Fetesti Air Base, in the commune Borcea, near the town of Fetesti, Romania on October 19, 2023. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP)
(FILES) Two Dassault Rafale fighter jets take off for a mission from Fetesti Air Base, in the commune Borcea, near the town of Fetesti, Romania on October 19, 2023. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP)

States in Europe almost doubled their imports of major arms in the past five year, partly due to the war in Ukraine, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

While Ukraine has become the world's fourth largest arms importer, exports from Russia halved.

France has replaced Russia as the world's second largest exporter behind the United States.

In 2019-2023, arms imports to Europe rose by 94 percent compared to the preceding five-year period, while overall global arms transfers decreased slightly, SIPRI said.

The increase is “partially explained by the war in Ukraine, and Ukraine has become the fourth largest importer of arms in the world in the last five years,” SIPRI researcher Katarina Djokic told AFP.

SIPRI prefers to analyze trends over half-decades as a few deliveries of major contracts can tilt yearly figures.

SIPRI noted that at least 30 countries had supplied major weapons as military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

But other European nations also increased imports, with a larger share coming from the world's number one exporter of arms, the United States.

In the 2019-2023 period, 55 percent of imports to Europe were from the US, up from 35 percent in the 2014-2018 period.

This is partly due to most European states being NATO members and partners of the US in the development of weapon systems like the F-35 fighter jet, Djokic said.

At the same time increased imports from the US underlined many European nations' desire to quickly acquire weapons and therefore buy “off the shelf” rather than develop new systems.

Globally, US exports grew by 17 percent in the period, bringing its share of total arms exports to 42 percent.

Russia -- which long held the position as the second largest exporter -- saw its exports fall by 53 percent between 2014-2018 and 2019-2023.

Russia was not only exporting fewer weapons, it was also exporting to fewer recipients.

It only exported to 12 countries in 2023, compared to 31 in 2019.

“There are also important changes in the policies of their biggest customer, China,” Djokic said.

China was traditionally one of the biggest recipients of Russian arms but has been pushing to develop its domestic production.

China still accounted for 21 percent of Russian exports, while India was the biggest recipient with 34 percent.

While Russia's exports declined, France saw its own grow by 47 percent, thereby narrowly edging out Russia to become the world's second largest exporter.

France accounted for 11 percent of total weapons exports in 2019-2023.

In particular, Djokic noted that France had been particularly successful in selling its Rafale fighter jet outside Europe.

SIPRI researcher Zain Hussain said the war in Gaza -- which began in retaliation for Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel -- has already affected arms imports to Israel.

This is primarily through transfers of weapons from the US, either via new military aid or the speeding up already existing contracts, he said.

Hussain cautioned that the longer term impact of the conflict was harder to predict.

“We already see in certain European states a kind of push by different actors or states to limit arms to Israel during its (military) operations in Gaza due to potential violations of international humanitarian law,” Hussain said.



Sumy City Under Threat as Russian Forces Advance, Ukraine Says 

A fragment of a rocket is seen following a Russian strike on Sumy, Ukraine, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP) 
A fragment of a rocket is seen following a Russian strike on Sumy, Ukraine, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP) 
TT
20

Sumy City Under Threat as Russian Forces Advance, Ukraine Says 

A fragment of a rocket is seen following a Russian strike on Sumy, Ukraine, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP) 
A fragment of a rocket is seen following a Russian strike on Sumy, Ukraine, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP) 

Russian forces have widened the frontline in Ukraine's northern region of Sumy, officials and analysts said, and Moscow said it captured another village on Tuesday, bringing the region's capital closer to within the range of frontline drones.

The advance towards the city of Sumy - the administrative center of the Sumy region - comes as Kyiv showed its ability to continue fighting by conducting a series of strikes in recent days, hitting Russian strategic bombers and the Crimean Bridge.

Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Türkiye for peace talks on Monday where Moscow said it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv cedes big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army.

On Tuesday, Russia's defense ministry said its forces took control of Andriivka, after capturing several other villages in recent days. Kyiv said Russian artillery attack on the city of Sumy killed four people and injured 28.

The head of the military administration of the Sumy region, which lies north of Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv, held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the region's defense strategy.

"The situation in the border area of Sumy region remains complex, dynamic, but controllable," the head of the military administration, Oleh Hryhorov, said on Facebook.

"The Russian army is constantly shelling border villages, hitting residential buildings, farms, and civilian infrastructure facilities."

The dual advance with fierce frontline fighting and missile and drone strikes in Sumy hinders Ukraine's defense abilities along in the southeast Donbas region, of which Moscow is seeking full control, military analysts say.

On Monday, Ivan Shevtsov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian brigades fighting in Sumy, told Ukrainian national broadcaster that Russian forces had captured about 15 km (9 miles) along the frontline, going 6-7 km deep.

If Russian advances take the town of Yunakivka, Shevtsov said, the city of Sumy will be under a direct threat.

The Ukrainian Deep State blog of analysts who track the front line using open sources said Russian forces are moving to within 20-25 km of Sumy, putting the city within a range of shorter-range attack drones.

Reuters could not independently verify the Russian claim of capturing Andriivka and Ukraine's General Staff made no references to the village in its evening battlefield report. DeepState said early on Wednesday that Andriivka was now in Russian hands.

Over the weekend, Sumy's authorities ordered mandatory evacuation of 11 additional villages due to escalating Russian attacks.

Shevtsov said Russia wants to completely capture the Sumy region, not just make a small incursion.

"Just ... like other regions in eastern Ukraine," he added.