Despite sanctions, Russia is purchasing rifles and ammunition from the EU and the US, according to media reports.

Despite years of sanctions, Russia continues to purchase thousands of Western rifles and millions of cartridges annually from companies in the European Union and the United States. While no one sells them directly, significant quantities of various weapons are making their way into Russia through third countries and are subsequently used in the war against Ukraine. This is highlighted in a joint investigation by The Insider, Czech Investigace.cz, Italian IrpiMedia, and Kazakh Vlast.kz, as reported by UNN.

Details

Journalists have discovered that in recent years, companies from the EU, the United States (USA), and Turkey have significantly increased their arms shipments to Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

Investigators note that the export of rifles and shotguns from Italy to Armenia has surged nearly 30 times over four years—from 68 units in 2019 to 1,862 in 2023. Kyrgyzstan did not purchase any weapons from Italy in 2020 and 2021, but received 882 units in 2022 and 4,434 in 2023. The export of arms from Turkey to Georgia has risen from 8,426 units in 2019 to 18,843 in 2023.

The largest European arms manufacturer with ties to Russia is the Luxembourg holding company Beretta. In June 2024, the Russian importer of Beretta was added to the U.S. Treasury's sanctions list. Nevertheless, the Beretta holding company remains the majority owner of the Russian company.

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Among German arms manufacturers, the firm Hans Wrage & Co from Hamburg maintains connections with the RF. Its head, Frauke Löhmann, still owns 15.96% of the Russian Rusimpex.

"Despite the war in Ukraine, this company continues to import Japanese Miroku rifles, German Anschutz, Krieghoff hunting shotguns, and Ruag Ammotec and RWS cartridges, including military calibers," writes The Insider.

EU countries imposed an arms embargo on Russia following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. However, as noted in the investigation, there are still no export control measures for countries in the Customs Union—Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan—which share a common customs space and the military-political bloc CSTO with Russia.

Reminder

The President of Ukraine stated that Russian missiles targeting Ukrainian schools may contain components from America, Europe, and Asia. He emphasized that the safety of children concerns everyone.