Ukraine becomes world's largest arms importer

Nation

9 March, 03:37 PM

Ukraine was the world's largest recipient of major arms in 2021-2025, receiving 9.7% of total global arms imports, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) wrote.

At the same time, the volume of deliveries in 2025 was significantly lower than in 2023 or 2024.

The material wrote that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, major arms deliveries have been carried out by at least 36 states. Of these, the top three suppliers included: the USA (41% of Ukrainian arms imports), Germany (14%), and Poland (9.4%).

At the same time, analysts noted that the volume of arms deliveries to Ukraine in 2025 was significantly lower than in 2023 or 2024. In particular, the reduction in U.S. military aid to Ukraine in 2025 is cited as the reason for this.

In 2025, at least 25 states agreed to purchase major arms from the U.S. for transfer to Ukraine. Deliveries of these weapons, including air defense missiles and guided bombs, are counted by analysts as U.S. arms exports.

The five largest recipients of major arms in 2021-2025 were: Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan.

On March 5, U.S. President Donald Trump called his predecessor Joe Biden's decision to hand over weapons to Ukraine "foolish."

At a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on March 3, Trump claimed that the USA has a "massive amount of ammunition," but reproached Joe Biden's previous administration because it handed over a significant amount of weaponry to Ukraine for free.

"We have a massive amount of ammunition. We have top-of-the-line weaponry; a lot of it was foolishly given away by Biden, very foolishly and for free," he said.

"And I am entirely for Ukraine, but they gave away too much. As you know, when I give ammunition, everyone pays for it."

Інші новини

Все новости