US supplied 53% of the weapons to European countries, 64% in the case of those who belong to NATO. After Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Poles are those who have acquired the most weapons in the past four years.
Europe imported 155 % more weapons between 2020 and 2024 that in the past four years, with Ukraine Become the largest global weapon importer as a result of the Russian invasion in 2022 and a Growing dependence on the United States as a supplier At a time that European leaders are debating the reinforcement of their countries Without having to count on Washigton so far.
That’s how they detach them from New data On international weapons transfers Published by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
At least 35 states sent weapons to Ukraine after the Russian invasion, which meant that this country received 8.8% of the global import of weapons in 2020-24. The majority of weapons was supplied by the United States, by 45%; Followed by Germany, with 12%, and Poland, with 11%.
The country that Volodimir Zelenski presents was the only European among the ten most important importers, in a list in which India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Japan, Australia, Egypt, the United States and Kuwait follow.
According to Sipri, many other European states have considerably increased their import of weapons during this period. The United Kingdom, with 2.5% of the total, and Poland, with 2.4%, were therefore the next largest weapon importers on the continent.
“The new figures on weapons transfers clearly reflect the redemiation of states in Europe in response to Russia’s threat,” said the director of the Sipri Arms Transfers program, Mathew George.
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On the other hand, the data from Sipri confirms a different reality: the dependence on Europe of the weapons supplied by the United States. In particular, Washington supplied 64 % of the weapons, compared to 52 % between 2015 and 2019, while France and South Korea (6.5 % each), Germany (4.7 %) and Israel (3.9 %) followed a large distance (3.9).
If Europe as a whole is taken into account, the United States delivered 53 % of the imported weapons between 2020 and 2024, compared to 41 % in the previous period. The following most important suppliers were Germany, with 6.8 %, and France, with 5.3 %.
Precisely, The United States are the most important weapons that export worldwide. In particular, the export of American weapons has risen by 21% over the past four years in the previous period and they already represent 43% of global exports, compared to 35% of 2015-19.
Washington delivered heavy armament to 107 states in 2020-24 and for the first time in two decades, most exports focused on Europe (35%) instead of the Middle East (33%), although the most important individual receiver was Saudi Arabia (12%).
On the other hand, The export of Russian weapons fell by 64 % with regard to the previous periodA decline that did not start after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, because already in 2020 and 2021 the export volumes were considerably lower than in any other year of the previous two decades, according to the report.
“Two of Russia’s most important commercial relations were already weakened before 2022, with India increasingly gaining other suppliers and China proponents of more weapons of their growing national industry,” said the Sipri program behind the study.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
