European countries are importing more weapons
02:10 | In the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European countries have imported more weapons in the past year, reports the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Ukraine is now the world’s largest arms importer after Qatar and India, according to the International Peace Research Institute.
“Although arms transfers have decreased worldwide, those to Europe have increased dramatically due to tensions between Russia and most other European states,” says Pieter Wezeman, SIPRI researcher. “After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European states want to import more weapons faster.”
Ukraine’s arms imports were low for years until 2021. Ukraine now receives large quantities of arms from the US and Europe, trailing only arms giants Qatar and India in terms of imports.
At the same time, Russia’s arms exports, which are usually among the highest in the world, “fell by 31 percent between 2013-2017 and 2018-2022,” SIPRI reports. Exports are likely to continue to decline, according to the research institute, as Russia keeps weapons for its own military and sanctions discourage countries from doing business with Moscow. Yet Russia is now exporting more to China and Egypt, SIPRI adds.
Situation on Monday 13 March
President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the Hero of Ukraine to Oleksandr Matsievskyi, a soldier executed by machine gun fire after being captured by Russian soldiers.
THE Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili Ukraine’s political leadership has said it will not interfere in Georgian politics. The criticism comes after Ukraine’s political leaders voiced their support for protesters in Tbilisi. Garibashvili described the comments as “direct interference” in domestic politics and told his Ukrainian counterparts to “take care of themselves and their country, and we will take care of our country”.
The Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Iran on an official visit to meet local leaders and discuss “trade and economic cooperation”.
There are reports of partisan attacks on a railway in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson region, according to the Ukrainian Army’s National Resistance Center. A video released by the Atesh partisan group shows the explosion of a railway line between the settlements of Abrikosivka and Radensk.
THE Ukrainian Kraken special unit destroyed two Russian observation towers in Bryansk in a drone strike. A third tower was destroyed earlier on 5 March.
Anton Gerashchenkoadviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, posted a video on his Telegram channel showing what appears to be an attack on the town of Vuhledar in the Donetsk region with firebombs.
Ukraine and Russia both said hundreds of enemy troops had been killed in the battle for Bachmut in the past 24 hours, with Kiev repelling attacks and a small river bisecting the city now forming the new front line.
THE Turkish Defense MinisterHulusi Akar said he believed a deal allowing the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea would be extended beyond the March 18 deadline. Russia’s foreign ministry said Russian representatives had not yet participated in negotiations to extend the deal.