The war in Ukraine has triggered the purchase of weapons in Europe, which in a single year has doubled the import of weapons to later provide them to the Kyiv government, which has become the third world destination, according to the annual report of the International Institute for Peace Research in Stockholm (Sipri).
With an increase of 93% in one year, imports have also increased due to the increase in military spending by several European states such as Poland and Norway, which according to the study will accelerate further. In the five-year period between 2018 and 2022, the period used by the organization to analyze world trends, Europe has increased its purchase of weapons by 47%, an investment that has skyrocketed in the last year due to the Russian invasion.
"The invasion has caused a significant increase in the demand for arms in Europe, which has not yet shown its full potential and will in all probability lead to further increases in imports," Pieter Wezeman, co-author of the prestigious report, told AFP. which has been published for three decades.
From one year to the next, Ukraine has gone from being a negligible arms importer to becoming the third largest arms destination in the world, behind Qatar and India, as a direct result of Western help to defend against Russian invasion.
The country alone accounts for 31% of arms imports in Europe and 8% of world trade, according to Sipri.
On the other hand, the United States has strengthened its dominance in the world arms trade in the last five years. The sale of US arms grew by 14% in 2018-22 compared to 2013-17 and its share in world exports went from 33 to 40% in that period, while the distance with respect to the second largest exporter has widened, Russia.
If in 2013-2017 US exports, which sold arms to 103 countries and had the Middle East as its main recipient, were 50% greater than Russian exports, in the following five years that distance multiplied to 148%.
Russian exports fell by 31% in that period and its world share fell from 22 to 16%. "It is likely that the invasion of Ukraine will further limit arms exports from Russia, as Russia will prioritize supplies to its military and demand from other countries will remain low due to sanctions and increasing pressure from the US and its allies", notes SIPRI.
The report also points to the tensions between a large part of the European countries and Russia to explain why Europe is the only region where arms imports have grown in the last five years, within a global fall of 5.1%.
According to SIPRI data, Spain was the sixth world exporter, with a global share of 2.6%, one tenth more than the previous five years, and despite suffering a 4.4% drop in sales, with Australia , Saudi Arabia and Belgium as the main buyers.
India remains the main world importer, with a share of 11%, despite a reduction of 11% in its purchases; followed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia and China.
SIPRI also highlights that the European member countries of NATO increased their imports by 65% in the last five years in response to tensions with Russia.
