The Reuters agency was the first to report that Indian ammunition has been flowing to Ukraine for over a year. According to her, the Indian government knew about it and did not take any action. This is in violation of Indian arms export regulations, according to which only the countries to which they were sold may use them, and they may not even resell them, reminds the BBC.
“The report suggests Indian misdeeds, even though there were none, and is therefore inaccurate and malicious. India has a flawless past of fulfilling its international obligations,” Rándhir Jaiswal, the spokesman for the Indian Ministry of Interior, commented on the report on the X social network.
Several Indian and European representatives of governments and the defense sector confirmed the news about the import of Indian ammunition into the territory of the attacked country. Ukraine, which faces a shortage of artillery ammunition, received only a very small amount of Indian-made material. In total, it should be less than a percent of the total amount of ammunition that Kyiv has imported since the beginning of the war with Russia.
However, Moscow has already complained about this phenomenon to the Indian government twice, most recently during the July meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries. As for India’s attitude to the conflict in Ukraine, India, in an effort to maintain good relations with the Kremlin, refrains from direct criticism of the aggressor, which bothers many Western powers. On the other hand, however, Delhi often talks about the importance of territorial integrity and the sovereignty of nations. He also repeatedly calls for diplomacy and ending the war through negotiations.
Despite the sanctions, Russia is an important trade and defense partner for India. It is its largest oil supplier and provides Delhi with about 60% of its defense sector equipment. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia in July, and on that occasion he called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “dear friend”.
At the time, Modi’s visit to Russia angered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said that he was “disappointed to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy in Moscow embracing the world’s bloodiest criminal.” Just a few weeks later, Modi also visited Ukraine and held talks with Zelensky.
