Artillery ammunition manufactured in India is being diverted to Ukraine "despite protests from Moscow," Reuters reported on Sept. 19, citing customs data and nearly a dozen Indian and European government and defense industry officials.
One of Russia's strategic allies, India has maintained its close economic and diplomatic ties with Moscow since February 2022, with bilateral trade reaching a historic high in 2023.
India has publicly said it has not sent or sold artillery shells directly to Ukraine, but multiple sources told Reuters that New Dehli "has not taken any action to throttle the supply" to European countries, from where the munitions are diverted to Ukraine.
Indian-made shells have been flowing into Ukraine via Europe for over a year, according to Reuters.
Three Indian officials told Reuters that the Kremlin "has raised the issue on at least two occasions, including during a July meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Indian counterpart."
Other sources told Reuters that India was producing a small fraction of the total ammunition being used by Ukraine, "with one official estimating that it was under 1% of the total arms imported by Kyiv" since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Reuters could not determine if the Indian munitions were resold or donated to Kyiv by European partners, but Czechia and Italy are thought to be among the countries delivering Indian-manufactured arms to Ukraine.
Czechia unveiled its initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine jointly with partners earlier this year amid shell shortages caused mainly by delays in U.S. assistance.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told the Kyiv Independent in July that the initiative had secured funds for 500,000 rounds and hopes to finance 300,000 more by the end of 2024.
Several countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Portugal, Canada, and the Netherlands, have since contributed funds to the Czech initiative. In February, Der Spiegel reported that Germany was conducting negotiations to procure ammunition from India.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kyiv on Aug. 23, marking the first time an Indian prime minister set foot in Ukraine since diplomatic relations were established over 30 years ago.
The visit came just weeks after Modi's trip to Moscow, where he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kateryna Hodunova
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