President Putin promotes Russian weapons used 'in real combat conditions'

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at the opening of the Army 2022 International Military-Technical Forum in Patriot Park outside Moscow, Monday, August 15, 2022. AP

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1 min

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.

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" 

 ", insisted Vladimir Putin, stressing in the midst of the

 that these weapons were " 

".

And the Russian president affirms that Moscow has many allies – hear potential customers – in Latin America, Asia and Africa for these weapons “ 

 ”.

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 (

), Russia was, between 2017 and 2021, the second largest arms exporter in the world, with 19% of the global market, but with declining sales in recent years.

► Listen again on RFI: Faced with Western weapons, in the Donbass the pro-Russian artillery has adapted

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