Today at 15:15
Despite years of sanctions, Russia continues to annually acquire thousands of Western rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition from companies in the European Union and the United States, The Insider reports.
“European arms manufacturers and officials have often not only turned a blind eye to Russia’s aggression in Crimea and Donbas but have also invested in expanding distribution on the Russian market,” the investigation states.
A joint investigation by The Insider, Investigace.cz, IrpiMedia, and Vlast.kz reveals that over the past three years, companies from the EU, the US, and Turkey have significantly increased arms exports to Central Asian countries such as Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. These nations are likely being used as intermediaries to re-export weapons to Russia, circumventing sanctions.
For instance, exports of rifles and shotguns from Italy to Armenia increased nearly 30-fold over four years. Kyrgyzstan, which did not purchase arms from Italy in 2020 and 2021, received 882 units in 2022 and 4,434 in 2023. Meanwhile, Turkey’s arms exports to Georgia rose from 8,426 units in 2019 to 18,843 in 2023.
The investigation also uncovered links between the Luxembourg-based Beretta Holding and Russian companies. Despite sanctions, the holding remains a majority owner of a Russian arms importer, directly violating both U.S. sanctions and the EU Council resolution of 2014.
“The company’s operations in Russia continued uninterrupted despite the EU embargo and the onset of full-scale war. Beretta’s joint venture with arms baron Mikhail Khubutiya, the ‘Russian Eagle’ company, along with Khubutiya-owned firms, received over a thousand weapons and more than a million rounds of ammunition produced by European companies in 2024,” the investigation reports.
Read also: Politico Highlights Dispute Between EU’s New Top Diplomat and Orbán Over Ukraine’s NATO Membership
