Loopholes in Sanctions Allow Russian Military to Get Western Guns
An investigation by journalists from Russia, Czech Republic, Italy, and Kazakhstan found that Western-branded sniper rifles ended up in the hands of Russian soldiers. This is despite sanctions imposed on Russia after it occupied Crimea in 2014.
The EU’s sanctions on arms exports to Russia did not apply to agreements made before August 1, 2014. They also did not include countries in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which consists of Belarus, Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Companies in EAEU countries that were not under sanctions could re-export arms to Russia. One example is Edelweiss, a Kyrgyz arms distributor that saw its business boom between 2020 and 2023.
The investigation also found that shotgun exports from Italy to Armenia increased significantly between 2019 and 2023. Italian weapon exports to Kyrgyzstan were non-existent in some years but grew rapidly in others.
These Western rifles are highly prized by Russian arms dealers, who sell them for a hefty profit of three to four times the original price in the US.
Beretta, a Luxembourg holding company, is one of the major beneficiaries of Russia’s orders. It has a joint venture with a Russian businessman and has supplied thousands of weapons and over a million rounds of ammunition to the Russian military.