India's artillery shells in Ukraine spark controversy with Russia

European clients are sending Ukraine casing for artillery shells produced in India. Reuters reported that India remains passive to Russia's protests, citing eleven sources from the governments of India, the European Union, and the defense sector. The same sources report that Indian ammunition components have been reaching Ukraine for over a year. Customs data analyzed by Reuters confirm this information.

According to India's arms export regulations, ammunition must be used by the declared buyer. In cases of illegal product transfers, future shipments may be suspended. The Kremlin has repeatedly raised the issue of Indian artillery casings during talks with the Indian government. One of the meetings took place in July when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

In January, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said at a press conference: "India has not sent or sold artillery casings to Ukraine." Additionally, two Indian government officials and two sources from the defense industry stated that India has produced only a small amount of ammunition used in Ukraine. One of the informants estimated that it constitutes less than 1% of all the weaponry reached there since the beginning of the war.

Reuters notes that there is no way to verify whether the European buyers of this ammunition resold it to Ukraine or donated it. Among the European countries that have supplied ammunition to Ukraine are Italy and the Czech Republic. According to officials from these countries and a former executive member of the state-owned company Yantra India, Italian and Czech initiatives aim to provide ammunition from outside the European Union. An Indian official also noted that Delhi is monitoring the situation. However, as he emphasized, India has not taken action to stop the supplies to Europe.

India and the US have strengthened defense and diplomatic cooperation in response to China's growing power. Although India maintains good relations with Russia, its leading arms supplier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow, Reuters reports. As the world's largest arms importer, India sees the prolonged war in Europe as an opportunity to develop its arms industry.

Data show that in the two years before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the three largest Indian ammunition producers – Yantra, Munitions India, and Kalyani Strategic Systems – exported ammunition components worth $2.8 million to Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain, and Slovenia. From February 2022 to July 2023, this value increased to $135.25 million, including ready-made ammunition.

Arzan Tarapore, a defense expert at Stanford University, stated that the development of India's arms export has caused some end-user violations. "Probably in the sudden recent expansion, some instances of end-user violations have occurred," he added.

A former executive member of Yantra India pointed out that companies such as the Italian firm MES, Yantra’s largest client, have been sending Indian missiles to Ukraine. MES buys empty shell casings from India and fills them with explosives. Yantra reports that it has entered into a contract to produce shell casings with a client identified as MES. Customs data show that Yantra supplied MES with L15A1 shell casings of 155 mm caliber worth $35 million from February 2022 to July 2024.

According to customs data, the UK-based company Dince Hill exported ammunition worth $6.7 million to Ukraine in February 2024. Meanwhile, Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente published on social media an agreement that allowed the company CDS to transfer shell casings of 120 mm and 125 mm caliber from Munitions India. The Indians supplied CDS with 10,000 shell casings worth over $9 million in March 2024.