The intensity of the Russia-Ukraine war has greatly decreased. Attacks and counter-attacks are still going on. Therefore, arguments and protests about it have not decreased, complaints, counter-complaints have not stopped, the friend-enemy equation has also remained fresh. Is India a friend of Ukraine? Of course it is. But India is also a friend of Russia. But whatever the equation of India with these two belligerent countries, recently it was known that India is sending arms to Ukraine! But not directly.
Artillery shells sold by Indian arms manufacturers are being shipped to Ukraine by European customers. And this is how weapons made in India are reaching Ukraine. Moscow protested when the matter came to light. But New Delhi did not want to take any steps to stop this arms trade.
This information was reported by an international press on Thursday, citing 11 Indian and European government and defense industry officials.
The transfer of ammunition to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia has been in place for more than a year.
According to Indian Arms Export Regulations, the declared buyer cannot sell or transfer arms to third parties. In case of such unauthorized transfer there is a risk of stoppage of future sales.
The Kremlin has raised the issue on at least two occasions, including during a July meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Indian counterpart, three Indian officials said.
In January, India’s foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told a press conference that India had not sent or sold artillery shells to Ukraine. Two Indian government and two defense industry sources said Ukraine produced very little of the ammunition sent to Delhi. That’s less than 1 percent of Kiev’s total weapons imports.
A Spanish and a senior Indian official, as well as a former top executive of Indian arms maker India, said Italy and the Czech Republic were among the European countries sending Indian ammunition to Ukraine. The two countries are reportedly leading an initiative to supply Kiev with artillery shells from outside the European Union.
Source: Zee News
