Vladimir Poutin did not have, this Monday, August 15, words strong enough to praise Russian weapons to his foreign allies. The President of the Federation was speaking on the first day of an international arms fair in the Moscow region. But the conflict in Ukraine so far does not seem to be an ideal showcase for the Russian arms industry.
” We are ready to offer our allies and partners the most modern types of weapons “Insisted Vladimir Putin, emphasizing in full war in ukraine that these weapons were almost all of them used repeatedly in real combat conditions “.
And the Russian president to affirm that Moscow has many allies – hear potential customers – in Latin America, Asia and Africa for these weapons “ appreciated all over the world “.
Why is Vladimir Putin so vigorously defending the Russian arms industry? Perhaps because the war in Ukraine is going on much longer than Moscow thought, with some weaponry, especially in terms of air defense, not seeming to work as well as expected.
And that’s not to mention the heavy casualties – which some analysts say could make the Russian arms industry less attractive. An industry that could also be penalized by Western sanctions; blockage of financial circuits, but also of foreign components inaccessible to import.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia was, between 2017 and 2021, the second largest arms exporter in the world, with 19% of the world market, but with declining sales in recent years.
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