Despite the global decrease in arms trade in the world, European countries have significantly increased their purchases of major weapons in recent years.
This is stated in a study by the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
"Even as world arms shipments have declined, shipments to Europe have increased dramatically due to tensions between Russia and most other European states," said Peter D. Wezeman, senior fellow at SIPRI's Arms Transfer Program. .
"After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, European states want to import more weapons as soon as possible. Strategic competition continues in other regions as well: the import of weapons to East Asia has increased, while imports to the Middle East remain at a high level," he noted.
Imports of major arms by European states increased by 47% between 2013-17 and 2018-22, while the global level of international arms supplies decreased by 5.1%.
European NATO countries have increased their arms imports by 65% as they seek to strengthen their arsenals in response to the growing threat from Russia.
Global arms exports have long been dominated by the US and Russia (consistently the largest and second largest arms exporters for the past three decades). However, the gap between them is widening significantly, while the gap between Russia and the third largest supplier, France, is narrowing.
US arms exports grew by 14% between 2013-17 and 2018-22, and in 2018-22 the US accounted for 40% of global arms exports. Russia's arms exports fell by 31% between 2013-17 and 2018-22, and its share of global arms exports fell from 22% to 16%, while France's share rose from 7.1% to 11%.
"It is likely that the invasion of Ukraine will further limit Russian arms exports. This is due to the fact that Russia will prioritize the provision of its armed forces, while demand from other countries will remain low due to trade sanctions against Russia and increasing pressure from the United States and their allies to refrain from buying Russian arms," said Simon T. Wezeman, senior fellow at SIPRI's Arms Transfer Program.
As reported, thanks to the military aid of the United States and European countries after the Russian invasion, in 2022 Ukraine became the third largest arms importer in the world.
