'The war in Ukraine has prompted Western leaders to send the country military equipment worth billions of dollars.
Experts say this, combined with the conflict's role in pushing up military spending, will lead to a windfall for Western arms manufacturers - but there are risks.'
NATO countries have been sending Ukraine military equipment worth more than $8bn (£6.4bn), while European countries have pledged to spend an extra €200bn (£170bn) on defence in the coming years.
news.sky.com
'Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at the arms transfers programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), says most of the weapons being sent to Ukraine are from existing military supplies.'
'Kristen Bayes, a spokesperson for the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, says the provision of weapons to Ukraine is understandable but "not problem-free".
"You might think you're handing over weapons to people you know and like, but then they get sold on to people you absolutely don't," she tells Sky News.
Mr Wezeman says weapons supplied to Ukraine "may end up disappearing into the black market" - an increased risk given that the country "isn't in full control of its territory".
He says it is difficult to keep track of weapons when they have to be supplied at such speed and there is a risk of them getting "lost or disappearing in the chaos".
He says there is little that can be done about this now but as soon as the war ends, a good programme needs to be put in place to collect weapons from civilians.'
Mr Wezeman says increases in military spending could also provoke Russia to expand its nuclear capabilities.
He says: "They may very well look at that and think: 'We can't compete with that. We cannot increase our spending at the same rate as NATO countries, it just doesn't work. We have to find alternatives.' And if you find no military alternatives, then you very quickly start looking at focusing more on nuclear weapons, because they are the rather cheap option." '
He says this could "bring down the threshold" for nuclear weapons use, adding: "It's a highly dangerous game."