Made-in-India artillery shells have reportedly been reaching hands of Ukrainian security forces for more than a year, according to sources and customs data cited by Reuters.
It has been reported that the arms produced in India were diverted to Ukraine by European customers.
Russia has flagged the use of Indian arms by Ukrainians at least two times. The latest instance when Russia protested against the issue was when Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar met with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in July.
The latest revelation comes at a juncture when India is hoping to mediate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week on the sidelines of a BRICS meeting, in a bid to initiate peace talks following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ukraine. Modi is expected to travel to Russia for the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22.
Customs records accessed by the agency have revealed at least three major Indian ammunition makers Yantra, Munitions India and Kalyani Strategic Systems exported just $2.8 million in munitions components to European customers in Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain and Slovenia. These European defence contractors have heavy stakes in Ukrainian supply chains.
Italian defence contractor Meccanica per l'Elettronica e Servomeccanismi (MES) was reportedly among the entities diverting made-in-India arms to Ukraine. MES, which is Yantra's biggest foreign client, buys empty shells from India and fills them with explosives, said a former Yantra official quoted by Reuters.
Earlier in January, Union External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India did not sell or transfer artillery shells to Ukraine. Officials quoted by the news agency said whatever Indian artillery accessed by Ukrainian forces accounted only for around 1 per cent of their total weaponry.