In 2024, around 2,000 Russian companies imported sanctioned goods for Russia’s military-industrial complex (MIC) worth approximately $1 billion. This was reported by The Insider. Investigators filtered out 326 companies, each of which supplied more than $13,000 worth of goods to Russia’s defense sector.
Sanctioning these companies could deal a serious blow to Russian arms and military equipment manufacturers. They import equipment and components that cannot be easily substituted with domestic alternatives. These include machine tools, microchips (primarily PLDs), sensors for military equipment, and other critical items. According to the outlet, the highest demand is for goods originating from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Switzerland.
At the same time, the identified importers represent only the “tip of the import iceberg,” as the analysis covered 160 military plants and only direct transactions that could be traced. In reality, supply chains for sanctioned goods may involve long networks of intermediaries.
The importers identified in the investigation fall into four groups:
- legacy military plants that directly procure sanctioned goods and enter foreign markets only in exceptional cases;
- large industrial conglomerates — producers of steel, pig iron, aluminum, and petroleum products — most of which are not under sanctions;
- subcontractors manufacturing specific components for the military using Western parts;
- resellers — the largest group — typically supplying machine tools and spare parts for them.