Intelligence: Russia "painted" itself second place in the global arms market

According to SIPRI, Russia ranks third, and its exports fell by 64%.

Russia is trying to present itself as the world’s second-largest arms exporter by using its own estimates instead of verified data on actual deliveries.

This was stated by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.

According to the FISU, the pro-Kremlin Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAMTO) claimed that in 2025 Russia allegedly exported weapons worth about $15 billion, gaining 12,55% of the world market.

As Ukrainian intelligence notes, this figure does not have a sufficient evidentiary basis. CAMTO itself admits that after 2022 Moscow practically stopped publishing data on the fulfillment of export contracts.

Therefore, the estimate of $15 billion is largely based on Putin’s statement about foreign currency revenue from arms exports.

For comparison, the FISU cites data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). According to its calculations, in 2021–2025 Russian exports of major arms fell by 64% compared with 2016–2020. Russia’s share of the global market decreased from 21% to 6,8%.

According to the latest SIPRI data, in 2021–2025 Russia ranked third among the largest exporters of major arms after the United States and France. Its share was 6,8% of global exports.

SIPRI also notes that the 64% drop in Russian exports was the largest among the top ten arms suppliers. The institute links the decline in part to a significant fall in Russia’s deliveries to Algeria, China, and Egypt.

Thus, CAMTO’s estimate of 12,55% of the world market differs substantially from SIPRI’s figures. Ukrainian intelligence believes Moscow uses such numbers to create the impression that Russia still holds a high position in the global arms market.