Russia devastated in Ukraine war, is it buying back its weapons from India, why are these questions being raised?
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Russia banned
Following the February 2022 attack on Ukraine, the US, European Union and Japan banned Russia from exporting potentially military-use goods. Following the data obtained by American research company ImportGenius, India’s Exim Trade examined Russia’s records of imported weapons such as tanks and missiles. According to it, UralVagonZavod, a company that manufactures tanks for the Russian army, imported military products from the Myanmar army on December 9, 2022, worth $24 million.
According to an annual report by the British think tank Military Balance, Russia has around 5000 tanks. Oleg Ignatov, a Russia analyst associated with the Brussels-based think International Crisis Group, said, “Russia has very old T-72 tanks in store, which need modernization. Later these tanks can be sent to the front line.
India third largest buyer
Russia is using T-72 tanks on a large scale. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia is the world’s third largest arms exporter. India is its biggest customer. In the last decade, 35 percent of arms exports from Russia to India have been done. According to Sipri, after India, China and Algeria have bought the most arms from Russia. China bought 15 percent and Algeria 10 percent of Russian weapons for its armies.
parts for missiles
Russia’s NPK KBM, the Machine-Building Design Bureau, also bought some parts from India. The company is involved in the production of the missile and has procured a total of six parts for surface-to-air missiles in August and night-vision in November 2022 from the Indian Ministry of Defense for $150,000. All the components ensure that the missile can engage enemy targets even at night and in low light. KBM exported these parts to India in February 2013. It is being said that Russia may have re-imported the parts for repairs. But till the end of March this year there was no record of goods being sent back to India.
Will there really be cooperation
Neither KBM nor the Indian Ministry has commented on this. Recently, in the G-7 summit held in Hiroshima, Japan, the leaders have asked to end the military support Russia is getting. “But it is difficult to get cooperation from countries that rely on Russian-made weapons,” said Nobumasa Akiyama, a research professor on arms control at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.
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