The Reuters report cites interviews with officials and an analysis of customs data.
New Delhi:
The Foreign Office has denied a Reuters report that ammunition sold by Indian manufacturers is being smuggled into Ukraine by European customers and that New Delhi has not stopped the trade, calling the report “inaccurate and damaging”.
Responding to queries on the report, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday: “We have seen the Reuters report. It is speculative and misleading. It implies violations by India when there are none, and is therefore incorrect and damaging.
Mr Jaiswal stressed that India has an impeccable track record of complying with international obligations regarding export of military and dual-use goods, adding, “India has been conducting its defence exports in compliance with its international obligations regarding non-proliferation and based on its own robust legal and regulatory framework, which includes a holistic assessment of relevant criteria, including end-user obligations and certifications.”
Reuters’ report, citing interviews with 11 Indian and European government and defense industry officials and an analysis of commercially available customs data, found that artillery shells sold by Indian arms manufacturers had been diverted to Ukraine by European customers and that the Indian government had failed to intervene to stop the trade, despite protests from Moscow.
The report said the supply of ammunition, which has helped Ukraine in its war against Russia, has been going on for over a year and that the Kremlin has raised the issue with India at least twice, including in July, during a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
It was stated that Indian arms export regulations stipulate that weapons can only be used by the specified buyer and that future sales to them can be stopped if there are any unauthorised transfers.
“Two Indian government sources and two defense industry sources told Reuters that Delhi produced only a very small amount of the ammunition used by Ukraine, with one official estimating it was less than 1% of the total amount of weapons imported by Kiev since the war. The news agency could not determine whether the ammunition was resold or donated to Kiev by European customers,” the report said.
“Among the European countries sending Indian ammunition to Ukraine are Italy and the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic is leading an initiative to supply Kiev with artillery shells from outside the European Union, according to a Spanish and a senior Indian official, as well as a former executive of Yantra India, a state-owned company whose ammunition is used by Ukraine,” the report said.
