India is currently number 1 in Russia. Limited to 2 suppliers, US, EU officials say | Foreign Defense Security News

The latest figures mean that about one-fifth of sensitive technology going to Russia's military-industrial complex arrives there through India, officials say.

The new data highlights the difficulties the United States and its allies have faced in limiting Russia's combat capabilities in Ukraine in the two and a half years since Putin's forces invaded. Most such dual-use items are banned from direct export to Russia, so the country resorts to purchasing them from third countries – sometimes from unwitting subsidiaries of Western companies or networks of intermediaries.

A State Department spokesman said Friday that the department would reiterate its growing concern about Indian government officials and companies.

The United States and the European Union have focused most of their efforts on a list of technologies found in or required to build Russian weapons.

As allies work to block some of these routes – Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates are the two main transshipment points – new transshipment hubs have emerged. According to People magazine, these are India, Malaysia and Thailand.

India's role in exporting such goods poses another challenge as U.S. and EU policymakers seek to build partnerships with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government even as it cultivates ties with Putin. India has become a major buyer of Russian oil despite allied efforts to limit sales.

According to officials, the main driver of this change is the huge reserves of cash that Russia has from oil sales

India's role as a transhipment point has made it the focus of EU and US sanctions agencies in recent months. Officials from these countries have made several visits in an attempt to restrict supplies, and several Indian companies have been placed under Western sanctions.