Europe’s arms imports have almost doubled over the past five years, due largely to the war in Ukraine, a leading think tank on conflict and defence said on Monday. A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) found that the import of weapons by European states increased by 94% between 2019 and 2023 compared to the period 2014 to 2018. The SIPRI data relates to the volume of arms deliveries, not their financial value. As the volume can fluctuate greatly from year to year depending on the order situation, the independent institute focuses on five-year periods rather t…