Made In India Ammunition Enters Ukraine, Russia Angry

Photo: Reuters/Anindito Mukherjee

NEW DELHI, (REUTERS) – 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.

Details of the ammunition transfers are reported by Reuters for the first time.

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 September 19

“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.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refused to join the Western-led sanctions regime against Moscow. But Delhi, long the world’s largest weapons importer, also sees the lengthy war in Europe as an opportunity to develop its nascent arms export sector, according to six Indian sources familiar with official thinking.

Ukraine, which is battling to contain a Russian offensive toward the eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk, has a dire shortage of artillery ammunition.

The White House declined to comment, and the State Department referred questions on Delhi’s arms exports to the Indian government.

India exported just over $3 billion of arms between 2018 and 2023, according to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think-tank.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has said that defense exports surpassed $2.5 billion in the last fiscal year and that Delhi wanted to increase that to about $6 billion by 2029.

Commercially available customs records show that in the two years before the February 2022 invasion, three major Indian ammunition makers – Yantra, Munitions India and Kalyani Strategic Systems – exported just $2.8 million in munitions components to Italy and the Czech Republic, as well as Spain and Slovenia, where defense contractors have invested heavily in supply chains for Ukraine.

Between February 2022 and July 2024, the figure had increased to $135.25 million, the data show, including completed munitions, which India began exporting to the four nations.

Arzan Tarapore, an India defense expert at Stanford University, said that Delhi’s push to expand its arms exports was a major factor in the transfer of its arms to Ukraine.

Discreet Deliveries

Unlisted Italian defense contractor Meccanica per l’Elettronica e Servomeccanismi (MES) was among the companies sending Indian-made shells to Ukraine, said the former top Yantra official.

MES is Yantra’s biggest foreign client. The executive said the Rome-based company buys empty shells from India and fills them with explosives.

Several Western firms had explosive filling capabilities but lack the manufacturing capacity to mass produce artillery shells, the executive said.

Yantra said in its 2022-23 annual report that it had agreed a deal with an unnamed Italian client to set up a manufacturing line for L15A1 shells, which the former Yantra executive identified as MES.

MES and Yantra India did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Customs data indicate that Yantra shipped $35 million worth of empty 155mm L15A1 shells to MES between February 2022 and July 2024.

Customs records also show that in February 2024, U.K.-based arms company Dince Hill – whose board includes a top MES executive – exported $6.7 million in ammunition from Italy to Ukraine.

Among the exports were 155mm L15A1 shells, which the customs declaration said were manufactured by MES for Ukraine’s Defense Ministry and supplied for “promoting the defense capability and mobilization readiness of Ukraine.”

Dince Hill did not respond to an email seeking comment. Its new owner, Rome-based Effequattro Consulting, could not be reached.

In another instance, Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente shared on social media, opens new tab in May an end user agreement signed by a Czech defense official that authorized the transfer of 120mm and 125mm ammunition shells from Munitions India to arms dealer Czech Defense Systems.

Pro-Palestinian activists had alleged that the Borkum, a vessel carrying Indian-made arms which had stopped in a Spanish port, was carrying the weapons to Israel.

Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported in May the destination was actually Ukraine. A Spanish official and another source familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that Kyiv was the end user. Munitions India and CDS did not respond to questions.

Customs records dated March 27 show Munitions India had shipped 10,000 rounds of 120mm and 125mm mortar shells, worth more than $9 million, from Chennai to CDS.