India rejects report on ammunition deliveries as ‘speculative’

India has denied a news report claiming the government failed to stop European buyers from supplying Indian-made artillery shells to Ukraine.

In a Story In a report published on Thursday, Reuters claimed that artillery shells sold by Indian arms manufacturers had been diverted to Ukraine by European customers.

The report claims that the ammunition transfer has been going on for over a year and that Delhi has taken no action to stop it despite repeated protests from Moscow.

The Indian Foreign Ministry described the report as “speculative” and “misleading”.

The report “implies violations by India where there are none and is therefore inaccurate and malicious,” Randhir Jaiswal, the ministry's spokesman, wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Mr Jaiswal added that India has an “impeccable track record of complying with international obligations” on non-proliferation and has its own strict export regulations.

A reaction from Moscow to the report and Delhi's statement is still pending.

India's arms export regulations restrict the use of weapons to the intended buyer, and any unauthorized transfer could jeopardize future sales. In May, India announced a further tightening of export regulations, which impose an obligation on buyers to ensure that the weapons are not delivered to third countries.

Ukraine, battling a renewed Russian offensive, is reportedly struggling with a shortage of artillery ammunition.

Citing unnamed Indian and European government and defense officials and customs data, the Reuters report said India produced a small portion of the ammunition used by Ukraine, estimated to be less than one percent of Kyiv's total arms imports since the war began in 2021.

Italy and the Czech Republic were among the European countries that sent Indian ammunition to Ukraine, it said.

According to the report, Moscow had raised the issue with Delhi at least twice, including at a meeting of the two countries' foreign ministers in July.

India has refrained from directly criticising Russia over the war, which has drawn anger from Western powers.

However, Delhi has often stressed the importance of respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations and has consistently urged diplomacy and dialogue to end the war.

India and Russia have traditionally enjoyed good relations and Moscow remains an important trade and defence partner for Delhi despite Western sanctions against Russia.

Last year, Russia was India's largest oil supplier. It remains India's biggest ally in the defense sector, supplying more than 60 percent of Delhi's needs.

In July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first bilateral trip to Russia after his third term in office, where he described President Vladimir Putin as a “dear friend.”

But Modi's visit to Russia drew the ire of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said he was “disappointed to see the leader of the world's largest democracy embracing the world's most bloodthirsty criminal in Moscow.”

Weeks later, Modi visited Ukraine and held talks with Zelensky, which analysts said was in line with India's famous non-aligned approach to geopolitics.