DUBAI (Reuters) -Russian state conglomerate Rostec said on Tuesday that its defence exports fell by half since 2022 as domestic orders became a priority amid the fighting in Ukraine, but expects recovery soon.

Until 2022 Russia held second place in the world after the United States in defence exports, but the volumes dropped “due to the fact that we have had to supply most of our production to our army”, Rostec Chief Sergey Chemezov told reporters.

Sanctions have complicated operations both in civil and defence sectors, but did not affect overall output, he said.