Every year, Russia puts its military might on display on Victory day, celebrating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. The choreographed spectacle is also a chance for Moscow to showcase its latest weapons to potential foreign buyers with weaponry. It's not just lucrative to export it, but it was also important as a sort of geopolitical outreach for Russia. But the country's share of the global weapons trade has been dropping since 2017, from 22% to 16%. And images of destroyed Russian
weapons across Ukraine have dented the reputation of its arms industry. So here is why Russia's position as the world's second largest weapons exporter is under threat. Problems began in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. This led to sanctions that limited the flow of Western components that are crucial in some Russian weapons. And last year's invasion of Ukraine triggered more economic sanctions and more complications for the Kremlin. Not only has it become harder for countries to bu
y Russian arms and components, it's also more difficult to pay for them. Now, if you're paying in the dollar, for instance, the US can sanction you for doing that And so a good example of that is the Philippines canceled an order of Russian helicopters precisely because of that. Russia's problems are creating opportunities for competitors like France, Serbia, an ally of Moscow is in talks to buy French Rafa fighter jets. Another issue is Russia's own need for weapons as it offensive in Ukraine d
rags on Russia has likely lost more than 2000 tanks in Ukraine. That's more than half its operational fleet. According to one estimate, this raises questions about how many weapons Moscow has left for export. Russia's biggest arms buyer. India said in March that a major delivery from Moscow wasn't going to take place because of the Ukraine War, China. The next biggest customer has also become less reliant on Russian made weapons. Countries like India and China are very important and are likely h
arbinger of much worse to come for the Russian arms industry because they are starting to make more of their own weaponry. Some analysts say Russia's performance on the battlefield could further weaken demand for its equipment. Some people would argue that it's not so much Russian equipment, that's bad. It's the tactics and the people who are using it. The Ukrainians have used some Russian armor for instance, its tanks to great effect, but a lot of people would say that it's very damaging for Ru
ssia. Russia didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the decline of its global arms exports. These difficulties are likely to further reduce Moscow's share of the global weapons trade. Its arms exports dropped 31% in the five years that ended in 2022 compared with the same period ending in 2017. That's according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the think tank uses multi year periods because yearly figures can be distorted by large deliveries. It
's very hard to say and therefore Russia will continue to fade as a major arms exporter. But it's problematic on so many different fronts for the Russian's arm industry that there are obvious reasons why if you were in the Russian arm industry, you would fear its future.
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