The Opex360 journalists seem surprised that this deal received zero international reaction, particularly the fact that it didn't trigger any retaliation sanctions from Western countries.
Moreover, Defense Express would like to emphasize that it's a truly large-scale contract. To illustrate: in early 2024, the London-based think tank IISS estimated in The Military Balance 2024 study that the Russian army had only 1,750 tanks, among them 950 were of the T-72 type in various modifications; meanwhile, the Indian army had 3,740 tanks, including 2,400 T-72s.
The acquisition of engines is associated with an earlier initiated program to restore the entire fleet to "near-zero-hour, zero km state of operational readiness." Such a massive contract for T-72 engines for India will strengthen Russia's tank industry capabilities and capacity to sustain the Russian army in its war of aggression against Ukraine.
This, combined with February 2025 reports about India's interests in buying 3M54 Kalibr anti-ship missiles from Russia, with no response from the West either, evolves into an alarming trend, where the Russian military-industrial complex exploits its cooperation with India as a loophole to revitalize all its segments, strained by the ongoing war and international sanctions regime.
