KYIV, March 10 – Ukraine became the world's largest importer of major weapons in 2020-24, with European arms imports overall increasing by 155% over the same period as countries responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and uncertainty about future U.S. foreign policy, according to a press release issued on Monday for a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

"At least 35 states sent weapons to Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and substantial further deliveries are in the pipeline. Ukraine received 8.8 per cent of global arms imports in 2020–24. Most of the major arms supplied to Ukraine came from the USA (45 per cent), followed by Germany (12 per cent) and Poland (11 per cent). Ukraine was the only European state among the top 10 importers in 2020–24, although many other European states significantly increased their arms imports in the period," the report notes.