Russia-Ukraine war: India rejects report on transfer of ammunitions as ‘speculative’

India has dismissed a news report claiming the government failed to prevent European buyers from transferring Indian-made artillery shells to Ukraine.

In a story published on Thursday, Reuters alleged that artillery shells sold by Indian arms makers had been diverted by European customers to Ukraine.

The report alleged that the transfer of ammunition has been ongoing for more than a year, with Delhi taking no action to stop it despite repeated protests from Moscow.

India’s foreign ministry has called the report “speculative” and “misleading”.

The report “implies violations by India, where none exist, and hence, is inaccurate and mischievous”, Randhir Jaiswal, the ministry’s spokesperson wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Mr Jaiswal added that India has an “impeccable track record compliance with international obligations” on non-proliferation of arms and has its own robust export rules.

Moscow is yet to react to the report or Delhi’s statement.

Indian arms export regulations restrict the use of weapons to the designated buyer, and any unauthorised transfers could jeopardise future sales. In May, India had announced further tightening of export rules, mandating that buyers ensure the arms are not sent to third countries.

Ukraine, which is battling a renewed offensive from Russia, reportedly grapples with a shortage of artillery ammunition.

Citing unnamed Indian and European government and defence industry officials along with customs data, the Reuters report said that India produced a small amount of the ammunition being used by Ukraine – which is estimated to be under 1% of the total arms imported by Kyiv since the war began in 2021.

Italy and the Czech Republic are among the European countries sending Indian ammunitions to Ukraine, it added.

The report said Moscow had raised the issue with Delhi on at least two occasions, including during a meeting between the foreign ministers of both countries in July.

India has refrained from directly criticising Russia over the war, which has drawn the annoyance of Western powers.

Delhi, however, has often spoken about the importance of respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations. It has continuously pushed for diplomacy and dialogue to end the war.

India and Russia have traditionally shared warm relations, and Moscow remains an important trade and defence partner for Delhi despite Western sanctions on Russia.

Last year, Russia was India’s biggest oil supplier. In the defence sector, it continues to be India’s biggest ally, supplying more than 60% of Delhi’s needs.

In July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first bilateral trip to Russia after being elected to his third term, where he referred to President Vladimir Putin as a “dear friend”.

But Modi’s Russia visit invited the ire of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said he was “disappointed to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow”.

Weeks later, Modi visited Ukraine and held talks with Zelensky, which analysts said was in line with India’s famed non-alignment approach to geopolitics.