Europe now world's biggest arms importer, think tank says
Europe became the world's biggest arms importer over the last five years as governments reacted to Russia's threat and waning confidence in US security commitments, data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute showed on Monday.
European countries more than trebled their arms imports in 2021-25 versus 2016-2020 to supply Ukraine in its defence against Russian invasion and to rebuild their own militaries after decades of under-investment. "The sharp increase in arms flows to European states pushed global arms transfers up almost 10 per cent," Mathew George, Director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme, said.
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