Russian arms exports have fallen sharply over the past five years, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank said in a new report published Monday.
Though still the world’s third largest supplier behind the United States and France, Russia’s share of global arms sales fell from 21% in 2016-20 to 6.8% in 2021-25.
“It was the only supplier among the top 10 globally whose arms exports decreased (-64%) between the two periods,” SIPRI said.
The think tank attributed the decline to substantially lower sales to Algeria, China and Egypt.
India, China and Belarus accounted for 74% of Russia’s exports of weapons in 2021-25.
SIPRI analyzes trends over half-decades because a few deliveries of major contracts can tilt yearly figures.
It stated that Russia planned to sell fewer weapons than the United States and France in the coming years and, in categories such as warships and combat aircraft, fewer than the other top 10 suppliers.
The combined arms exports of EU countries were, meanwhile, four times higher than Russia’s in 2021-25.
European countries also more than tripled their arms imports over that period to supply Ukraine as it continues defending against Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Ukraine became the largest recipient of major weapons in Europe and the world, with a 9.7% share of imports from at least 36 countries.
Russia accounted for 0.4% of global arms imports, including Iranian drones and North Korean artillery and missiles, in 2021-25.
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