Vantage | Will Indian ammunition make it to Ukraine via Germany?

The Russia-Ukraine war has entered its third year. India has been supplying humanitarian aid to Ukraine while refusing to join Western sanctions against Russia and impressing upon all sides that this is not an era of war. This largely sums up India’s role and position, but this may change if Germany has its way. The Germans are hoping to buy Indian ammunition to arm Ukraine. That is a stunning claim made by a German newspaper. It says Berlin and New Delhi have started secret talks.

We don’t know how serious these conversations are or if they will lead to a deal. But we do know that Europe is desperate and Ukraine is running out of firepower. America’s military aid package is stuck. Europe is struggling to fill the gaps.

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“We have to commit ourselves to doing and providing whatever it takes. We should not say for how long it takes, but whatever it takes,” said Josep Borrell, European Union foreign policy chief.

Borrell travelled to Kyiv this month and promised to do “whatever it takes”.

Even if it means tapping India for supplies, It sounds like a far-fetched idea. India hasn’t picked any sides in the Ukraine war. It has close military and strategic ties with Russia and is keen to protect this relationship.

But Germany needs the ammunition. It is apparently willing to go the extra mile and explore every possible avenue.

Reports say every two weeks, Germany’s top officials meet in Berlin. They gather to discuss Ukraine’s military supplies and which countries can be approached to buy ammunition stocks.

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This meeting is attended by key decision-makers—military officers, diplomats, and civil servants—who go through the options and explore the possibilities.

Reports say Berlin is willing to use intermediaries to buy the ammo through a middleman so that the Indian government won’t have any exposure. At this point, it is mostly speculation. But Russia will be watching carefully. Last month, Moscow raised a concern with New Delhi.

It had found Indian shells in Ukraine—155-millimetre artillery shells—commonly used in howitzers. One report said they were originally bought by Slovenia. Slovenia hoodwinked New Delhi by supplying Indian-manufactured artillery shells to Ukraine after purchasing them from the south Asian country without revealing that the acquisition was meant for Kyiv’s forces. Once they were delivered, Slovenia just shipped them to Ukraine.

Apparently, without keeping New Delhi in the loop, this could happen again. So India will weigh its options carefully. Of course, Europe isn’t the only party scavenging for ammo. Russia, too, is on the lookout, and it is said to be tapping North Korea.

Last year, there was an exchange. North Korea made a special delivery to Russia. It sent 6,700 containers. It is hard to say what was inside them. But South Korea was watching these consignments. And as per South Korea, the containers could have had three million artillery shells, 500 thousand rounds of ammo, or a mix of both.

South Korea says this was a barter deal, and in return, Pyongyang got essential supplies—things like food, raw materials, manufacturing parts, etc. Since the beginning of this war, Pyongyang has been a reliable supplier for Moscow.

Since September 2023, North Korea has delivered more than 10,000 containers of munitions or related materials to Russia.

So both Ukraine and Russia are chasing the same goals. They want more firepower and to keep the fight going, even though this could be the best time to discuss a ceasefire.

Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.