Over the past five years, from 2019 to 2023, Ukraine has become the largest arms importer. According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the increase in arms imports increased by an incredible 6,633% compared to the previous period of 2014-2018.
Analysis of the data showed that during the same period, arms exports from Russia halved, which led to a decrease in its position in the world ranking of exporters, now it is in third place.
Currently, Ukraine is the leader among European countries and the fourth in the world in terms of the volume of arms imports. This achievement was made possible by the receipt of a large number of major weapons from more than 30 countries from 2022. The main suppliers of Ukraine became the USA (39% of weapons), Germany (14% of weapons) and Poland (13% of weapons).
At the same time, Russia lost its position in the arms market. First, Russian supplies were overtaken by France, which increased its arms exports by 47%, accounting for 11% of the global volume. Second, Russian arms exports have fallen by a record 53% over the past two years, down to 10% of the total volume on the world market.
The US remains the largest arms exporter, accounting for 55% of global exports, up 20% from the previous five-year period.
