The Indian government has rejected a news report from Reuters that claimed ammunition made by Indian companies was being sent to Ukraine by European buyers, and that India did nothing to stop it. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called the report “inaccurate and mischievous.”
On Thursday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to questions about the report, saying that they had seen the Reuters report. It is speculative and misleading. It suggests India is violating rules, but that’s not true, making the report incorrect and deceptive.
Jaiswal also emphasized that India has a strong history of following international rules when exporting military items. He said that India’s defence exports are done with full consideration of its global responsibilities, based on a strong legal and regulatory system. This includes carefully checking criteria like who the end-user is and getting proper certifications.
Reuters’ report claimed that European customers had been sending Indian-made artillery shells to Ukraine without India’s intervention, despite complaints from Russia. It said that this had been happening for over a year and that Russia had brought up the issue with India at least twice, including in July during a meeting between Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The report noted that Indian laws on arms exports state that weapons should only be used by the country that buys them and that India can stop future sales if the arms are transferred without permission.
Reuters spoke with Indian and European officials and analyzed customs data to suggest that Italy and the Czech Republic were among the countries supplying Ukraine with Indian-made ammunition. However, the report also mentioned that India’s contribution was very small, less than 1% of the total arms Ukraine has imported since the war started.
