Ukraine Among Top Ten Arms Exporters

In the years 1998 through 2001, Ukraine exported $2.7 billion worth of arms. Thus far no official data on Ukraine’s arms sales receipts in 2002 have been released. However, according to the Ukrainian Center for the Studies of the Army, Conversion, and Disarmament, Ukraine’s total arms exports in 2002 come to $440-460 million vs. $520 and 500 million in 2000 and 2001 respectively. According to experts, this reduction is due either to the depletion of old reserves of military hardware or lower production volumes caused by the underfunding of the military-industrial complex. Ukraine’s arms exports in 1997-2001 were a mere 54% of Germany’s and 2.6% of arms sales globally.

Russia’s arms exports in 2002 rose $1 billion to $4.8 billion. Russia accounted for 36% of world arms supplies thus outstripping the US, whose arms exports receipts last year came to a mere $3.9 billion. Arms supplies brought France $1.6 billion. China, India, and Pakistan were major arms importers.

As for the global arms budget, it climbed 6% to $795 billion, according to the SIPRI annual report. The US accounts for three- quarters of the growth in global spending on arms, which is roughly $336 billion. SIPRI experts attribute this major increase in spending by Washington to the war on terrorism it has launched. Since this war is waged on a lesser scale in Europe, spending on arms by NATO members has not increased substantially. China expanded its defense budget by 18%. Thus the global arms budget reached $794 billion, an increase of 6% from 2001. This figure is likely to be higher, since the 2002 SIPRI report does not take into account the costs of the US and British-led operation in Iraq. The report stresses, however, that “the remaining world is not ready or able to follow in the footsteps of the US and increase its defense spending.”

According to SIPRI, in 2002 there were 21 wars fought globally vs. 24 wars in 2001. With the exception of India and Pakistan, these wars were waged on the territory of a single country. However, experts did not venture to speculate on how long this trend will continue.