NEW DELHI, September 20 ------ Artillery shells sold by Indian arms makers have been diverted by European customers to Ukraine and New Delhi has not intervened to stop the trade despite protests from Moscow, according to 11 Indian and European government and defense industry officials, as well as a Reuters analysis of commercially available customs data. The transfer of munitions to support Ukraine's defense against Russia has occurred for more than a year, according to the sources and the customs data. Indian arms export regulations limit the use of weaponry to the declared purchaser, who risks future sales being terminated if unauthorized transfers occur.
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, three Indian officials said. Following the publication of this report, India's foreign ministry described it as "speculative and misleading". "It implies violations by India where none exist and, hence, is inaccurate and mischievous," ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday. "India has been carrying out its defense exports taking into account its international obligations on non-proliferation and based on robust legal and regulatory framework, which includes a holistic assessment of relevant criteria, including end user obligations and certifications," Jaiswal added.
The foreign and defense ministries of Russia and the defense ministry of India did not respond to questions. In January, Jaiswal told a news conference that India had not sent or sold artillery shells to Ukraine. Two Indian government and two defense industry sources told Reuters that Delhi produced only a very small amount of the ammunition being used by Ukraine, with one official estimating that it was under 1% of the total arms imported by Kyiv since the war. The news agency couldn't determine if the munitions were resold or donated to Kyiv by the European customers.
Among the European countries sending Indian munitions to Ukraine are Italy and the Czech Republic, which is leading an initiative to supply Kyiv with artillery shells from outside the European Union, according to a Spanish and a senior Indian official, as well as a former top executive at Yantra India, a state-owned company whose munitions are being used by Ukraine. The Indian official said that Delhi was monitoring the situation. But, along with a defense industry executive with direct knowledge of the transfers, he said India had not taken any action to throttle the supply to Europe. Like most of the 20 people interviewed by Reuters, they spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Source: reuters.com
Comentários