Russia is suspected of buying back military equipment previously shipped to Myanmar and India, potentially to modify outdated weaponry and equipment intended for deployment in Ukraine, financial news outlet Nikkei Asia reported Monday.
Overview
Nikkei examined customs clearance data on shipments to Russia provided by ImportGenius, an American research specialist firm, Exim Trade Data of India, and other sources, reviewing data about Russia’s imports of weapons parts such as tanks and missiles.
In Myanmar, in December 2022, Uralvagonzavod, a Russian tank manufacturer, paid $24 million to import military equipment from the Myanmar army. According to the registration, Uralvagonzavod manufactured the components.
Referring to the reimported items’ harmonised system (HS) codes, the company repurchased 6,775 sighting telescopes and 200 cameras for tank installation. They are “probably optical devices to measure distance to targets and zero in on them,” said Nobuyuki Akatani, a former senior officer from Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force who worked on tank development.
Russia is suspected of buying back military supplies previously shipped to Myanmar and India, according to a Nikkei analysis of customs clearance data.https://t.co/k0qQqNeVmG
— Nikkei Asia (@NikkeiAsia) June 5, 2023
From India, Russia’s Machine-Building Design Bureau (NPK KBM), which oversees the country’s missile production, purchased six components for a night-vision sight for ground-to-air missiles in August and November last year for $150,000.
According to customs clearance records obtained by Nikkei, the components were returned to Russia because they were defective. KBM developed the parts needed to ensure that missiles could work at night and in poor light, and it exported the same type of parts to India in February 2013.
“Russia may have reimported the parts for repairs, but there were no records of the items being sent back to India as of the end of March this year,” Nikkei reported. However, neither KBM nor the Indian government have responded to its request for comment.
Kinichi Nishimura, a military expert who previously worked with Japan’s Ministry of Defence, believes that “any defective products should have been replaced when discovered in a full inspection conducted at the time of import.”
Other analysts concur: “For a warranty return, this would, as far as I know, be an unusual quantity,” said Jakub Janovsky of Oryx, a Dutch Defence intelligence analysis website.
The impact of trade sanctions and export controls: Russia is suspected of repurchasing parts for tanks and missiles that it had exported to Myanmar and India. UralVagonZavod imported military products from the Myanmar army for $24 million on Dec. 9, 2022.https://t.co/cIgoOiOarc
— Dr Maria Shagina 🇺🇦 (@maria_shagina) June 5, 2023
Russia’s Requirement for Optical Equipment
According to the 2023 edition of “The Military Balance,” an annual report produced by the British think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies, Russia has a tank inventory of nearly 5,000.
Oleg Ignatov, a Russia analyst with the International Crisis Group, a think tank based in Brussels, stated, “Russia has a lot of old T-72s [tanks] in storage that are in need of modernisation and could be sent to the front line afterwards.”
Based on previous trade data, Russia, which relied on Western technology to produce optical equipment, is struggling to obtain the necessary parts due to the trade restrictions. Ignatov stated, “I can add that optics is a big problem for the Russian military-industrial complex. It’s plausible that they are trying to get optics this way.”
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia is the world’s third-largest weapon exporter. India has become its most important consumer, accounting for 35% of Russia’s overseas arms shipments over the past decade.
Russia Tries to Evade Sanctions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasised Russia’s reliance on a network of suppliers capable of helping it evade international sanctions and continue developing its missile arsenal. He did not specify the nations or firms that are assisting Russia with missile production in the field of technology.
“We analysed in great detail how Russia circumvents sanctions and who helps it. Different countries, different companies, without which Russia would not be able to produce terrorist weapons, including missiles,” Zelensky stated on Sunday after a special meeting on sanctions with the top Kyiv administration officials.
Zelensky said, “Unfortunately, the terrorist state manages to use the technologies of the world through a network of suppliers, and manages to circumvent international sanctions regimes.” He added, “Necessary steps will be taken.”