Russia

Archived

Uncertain personal finances and the national economic climate are among Russians' top reasons for delaying or forgoing having children, according to survey results obtained by the RBC news website.

The survey, conducted by the CSP Platform and the company Online Interviewer, polled respondents from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and allowed participants to choose up to five factors that influence their decisions about parenthood.

Among the 1,200 respondents aged 18 to 49, 79% chose financial circumstances as a deterrent to having children.

Half said their income, or their partner’s, was too low to support a child.

Uncertainty over the future attributed to ongoing crises or environmental issues was cited by 41%, while 39% referred to the economic situation in Russia.

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Archived

Russia has decided to classify data on the state of the economy and foreign trade as a state secret. From now on, only individual indicators that are favorable to the authorities will be disclosed in order to calm the public, UNIAN reported.

According to data from the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, serious crisis processes are observed in the coal mining, oil refining, construction, automotive and logistics industries of the Russian Federation, which in general provide about 17% of revenues to the federal budget.

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The EU extended sanctions against Russia for another six months.

Due to Moscow's continued actions destabilizing the situation in Ukraine.

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The report comes as defense drives Russia’s industrial growth while civilian production contracts.

Russia’s industrial sector, fueled by the defense sector, grew by 1.6% in May and 1.8% over the last year after accounting for seasonal factors, state statistics service Rosstat has reported.

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Civilian industries have reported widespread contractions, leading analysts to warn that Russia’s economy has become disproportionately driven by the military-industrial complex in the fourth year of its invasion of Ukraine.

Tverdye Tsifr (“Hard Numbers”), a Telegram channel that reports on financial data, noted a 42% surge in the output of “miscellaneous transport equipment” and a 14% increase in finished metal products over the last month, compensating for weaker performance in March and April.

Clothing production increased by 12%, and production of electronic and optical products, computers and pharmaceuticals rose by 9%.

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Analysts from Russia’s largest private bank Alfa-Bank described the May results as evidence of a highly segmented economy.

Previously, “when civilian growth was weak and defense growth was robust, all sectors expanded to some degree,” wrote MMI, a Telegram channel that analyzes Russian and global microstatistics, of the new divergence between military and civilian industry.

“Now, all civilian industries have recorded declines, while defense output has accelerated. There are not enough resources to go around for everyone, so someone has to cut back,” it said.

[...]

Rosstat reported that the producer price index for industrial goods shrank by 1.3% in May and by 2.8% since the start of the year.

A sustained decline in industrial prices, Promsvyazbank warned, “signals the real economy’s diminished resilience to high interest rates.”

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According to the government-affiliated CMACP analytical center, industrial growth has been mostly concentrated in the defense sector, with civilian industries remaining stagnant since mid-2023.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37767518

Archived

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Three years [ago], the governor of St. Petersburg signed a sister-city agreement with the occupying authorities of Mariupol, the Ukrainian port city that was razed to the ground in a devastating Russian siege just weeks beforehand.

“Since then, St. Petersburg has hosted children from Mariupol for every camp session — both in summer and winter,” said Governor Alexander Beglov.

This summer, Russian authorities are organizing five three-week camp sessions for children from the occupied city. Each session is led by child psychologists, St. Petersburg schoolteachers and camp counselors who recently graduated from teacher training college.

More than 2,000 schoolchildren from Mariupol in total are expected to attend camps in St. Petersburg this year.

Initially, Russian authorities billed these summer programs as health and wellness retreats for children who had lived under Russian shelling.

But from the very first sessions, children were also taught to develop respect and love for the country that seized their home city.

[...]

Today Ukraine has confirmed the deportation of 19,546 children from occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia, though experts say the real number is likely much higher.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in connection with these deportations.

Ukrainian experts say Russia is deliberately stripping these children of their Ukrainian identity and raising them to become Russians, turning minors into a new generation loyal to the Kremlin.

The educational program at Camp Druzhnykh lists goals that include fostering a national — that is, Russian — identity among the children.

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The camp also organizes a career fair where children can learn about the job market in Russia. In June, it featured a police college that accepts students as early as ninth grade. Students from the college spoke to the children about the ceremonial police oath and showed them how to take fingerprints.

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Now in high school, Masha [a girl form Mariupol, not her real name] quietly dreams of moving to St. Petersburg for university. But when she talks about the future, there is a sadness in her voice [...] “I used to think living in Russia was easy. But then my mom tried to get a job at Pyaterochka [a discount supermarket chain], and the salary was under 20,000 rubles (less than $253) — while the country’s minimum subsistence level is 17,000 ($215). That’s when I realized life in Russia is hard. You don’t live — you survive.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37766685

Archived

About 80% of the components Russia uses for weapons production come through China, posing the biggest challenge to the EU’s sanctions policy.

This was stated by David O'Sullivan, the EU Special Envoy for Sanctions Implementation related to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, during the “Fair Play: Honest Game” conference on additional sanctions against Russia held Friday in Kyiv, reports Ukrinform.

“About 80% of these goods enter Russia via China or Hong Kong and China. It’s a very difficult conversation. When President von der Leyen, or President Costa speak about this at summits, or our member states, President Macron, Chancellor Scholz when he was in Beijing — the Chinese usually respond: ‘We don’t understand what you mean. We don’t supply anything with military use for Russia.’ So we keep pressing, but the response is lukewarm. You see this in many products made in China. These are Chinese copies of Western brands,” explained O’Sullivan.

[...]

He added that similar difficult negotiations happen in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Singapore, where he plans to go again next month, as many local companies are subsidiaries of European firms.

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According to the special envoy, companies have introduced clauses banning resale to Russia and conduct client checks, but at some point their components disappear into a “wild field,” making supply chain control impossible.

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“I try to explain to manufacturers in third countries that these components — especially a list of 50 joint priority categories we prepared closely with Ukrainians — may seem harmless. These include optical readers, integrated circuits, microchips, flash memory cards, which are found in our phones and computers. But when they get to Russia, it becomes weapons of war,” O’Sullivan detailed.

• Russian courts have issued over 100 convictions for “extremism” for participating in the “International LGBT Movement” or displaying its alleged symbols.
• Russian authorities weaponize and misuse the justice system as a tool in their draconian crusade to enforce “traditional values” and marginalize and censor LGBT people.
• Russia’s international interlocutors should call on the Kremlin to end its persecution of LGBT people and their supporters; governments should provide safe haven and meaningful protection to those fleeing Russia for fear of prosecution.

Donate to Human Rights Watch.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37732251

Archived

Over the past week, Russian forces have carried out large-scale strikes on Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kherson, and other Ukrainian cities. On June 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that since the start of the month, Russia had launched 2,736 drones of various types (including decoy drones) at Ukrainian territory. Russian troops have also continued to carry out missile strikes and drop aerial bombs. Meduza shares photos of the aftermath of just a few of Moscow’s most devastating attacks on Ukrainian cities.

https://archive.ph/6fZjC

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37719732

Archived

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Ukrainian intelligence highlights that the project would deepen cooperation between Russia and Chinese businesses within occupied Ukrainian territory, potentially reinforcing Russia’s military and economic presence in the region.

Earlier, an investigation revealed that Russia has nearly tripled production of its Iskander ballistic and cruise missiles over the past year by importing advanced manufacturing equipment from China, Taiwan, and Belarus.

Despite Western sanctions, the Votkinsk Plant—the main missile production facility—acquired over 7,000 new machines, including Chinese-made CNC systems, enabling it to manufacture more than 700 missiles since 2024.

Customs records confirmed that much of the equipment reached Russia through intermediaries, with eight out of ten known contracts traced back to China.

In addition to machinery, China has also supplied critical raw materials such as titanium for missile components. Ukraine’s military intelligence estimates Russia now holds a stockpile of about 900 Iskander missiles, enough for at least two more years of strikes.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37721348

Archived

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On 25 June, RT’s official profile shared footage of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni chatting with journalists at the NATO summit in The Hague.

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Over her characteristic facial expressions, the broadcaster added the caption: “Is Giorgia Meloni okay? Did she party too hard with Zelensky in The Hague?.”

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The implication was that the prime minister was under the influence—recalling past Russian insinuations of cocaine on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s desk or claims of supposed cocaine use by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on a train to Ukraine in May

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According to [Italian media outlet] La Stampa, the clip quickly went viral.

• Moscow appears to be furious because Meloni refused to echo US President Donald Trump’s more conciliatory approach to Russia and remains unwavering in her condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• She has also cautioned NATO allies about Russia’s strategic designs in Libya.

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Archived

Russian companies are increasingly cutting or eliminating employee bonuses and incentive payments as they seek to reduce costs, a new report has revealed.

The report, compiled by the HeadHunter recruiting service and the pension fund NPF Evolyutsiya, was obtained by the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia, which reported the findings on Friday.

Almost one-third of workers who previously received bonuses reported either a reduction or total loss of bonuses over the last year, a symptom of the slowing Russian economy.

The survey found that 20% of respondents noted a decrease in bonus amounts, while 9% said payments had stopped entirely.

For one-quarter of those surveyed, bonuses accounted for 10 to 30% of their total take-home pay.

Fifteen percent of workers reported bonuses equal to 10% of their pay, with a similar number of workers reporting that bonuses accounted for 30 to 50% of their income.

Managers, IT specialists, realtors and employees in sales, finance and construction were most likely to experience reduced or canceled bonuses, the data showed.

The regions where employees most frequently reported a loss of bonuses were Sverdlovsk (42%), Novosibirsk (36%), Samara (32%), Rostov (31%) and the republic of Tatarstan (32%).

“Bonuses and incentive payments are typically the first expenses companies cut when seeking to save money without implementing official salary reductions or formal layoffs,” Vladimir Chernov, an analyst at the online broker Freedom Finance Global, told Izvestia.

“Companies are becoming less flexible, especially with high interest rates and reduced access to loans. Businesses have reached a stage where financial incentives can’t be the sole motivators,” said Dmitry Dudarev, HR director at communications company CROS, referring to the Central Bank’s key rate of 20%.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37602652

If NATO means fewer Ukrainians in graves, why wouldn’t Kyiv pursue membership?

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On June 22, Donald Trump concluded his announcement of the Iran bombings with a grotesque flourish: “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE.” [...] Earlier, Vladimir Putin claimed his so-called “Special Military Operation” aimed to “liberate” Ukraine from “Nazis.” The victims, of course, see through the lie. In Bucha, a city where Russian troops committed unspeakable atrocities, one woman told me, her voice laced with bitter irony: “Yes, the Russians liberated me. From my job. My home. My car.”

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It also never escapes me how little ordinary lives matter when nations decide to wage war or when warlords and autocrats struggle for power. Normal people —those who dream, work, and love just as I do—are reduced to abstract casualties, their suffering buried beneath headlines dominated by jingoistic frenzy and geopolitical posturing.

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People become collateral damage, a bureaucratic euphemism for the unimaginable: families erased, homes vaporised, futures stolen—all in service of someone else’s narrow, violent ambitions.

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War cannot be truly understood through a screen. When we read about bombings and occupations—whether in [the Ukrainian city of] Bucha or the [Near East's] West Bank—we do not meet people. We see letters on a page, images on a screen. These may outrage us, as they should, but they cannot prepare us for the visceral horror of standing before survivors, hearing their voices, feeling the weight of their hands in ours.

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In [Ukrainian city of] Solomianskyi, where the Russians bombed a nine-story building [...] authorities admitted they didn’t know if these homes were still livable. If not, more families would join Ukraine’s 3.7 million internally displaced—a number that grows with each strike. War is not just missiles and rubble. It is a boy with a flower for a dead friend, a shopkeeper with no way to feed his children, and a country running out of places to call home.

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No flag, no ideology, no “preemptive strike,” and no excuse whatsoever can justify slaughter—whether it’s Russia butchering Ukrainians to “stop NATO,” or America and Israel flattening Iranian homes to “stop nukes.” Like the British rapper who shut down Piers Morgan, my Ukrainian visit strengthened my loyalty to the people in the camps, under the rubble. To the ones whose names we’ll never know, whose funerals won’t make the news.

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And so it is against this very backdrop that I challenge the Russians’ logic in attacking Ukraine, and why I believe their actions will backfire catastrophically. If Ukraine sees NATO membership as the guarantee that fewer of its people will be buried beneath Russian bombs, what possible reason would it have not to pursue that aim? If achieving this means Ukrainians can tend their gardens without sirens shredding the air; if it means more citizens can rebuild homes without fearing they’ll be obliterated by foreign missiles; if parents can cradle their newborns dreading only time’s passage, not incoming Tomahawks, then how could such military aggression possibly deter their pursuit? Would it not, instead, ignite their resolve?

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For Europe, Ukraine represents the critical bulwark against Russia’s insatiable imperial ambitions, a truth painfully familiar to Central and Eastern European nations that have endured centuries of domination under the Russian Empire, Soviet rule, and now Putin’s revanchist federation.

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Many of [the Ukrainian youth] strongly believe that Russia would never have invaded a nuclear-armed Ukraine.

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Several Ukrainian officials revealed [...] that NATO membership currently appears distant, yet they maintain a steadfast commitment to this strategic goal. In parallel, there persists a widespread optimism among Ukrainians about accelerated EU accession, which they see as vital for elevating living standards across their war-torn nation. One Ukrainian official expressed cautious hope about the French-British European defence initiative, explaining what it meant to Ukraine’s war efforts. “If this security framework materialises,” he told me, “it could significantly bolster Ukraine’s defensive capabilities against Russian aggression – potentially serving as a crucial bridge until NATO membership becomes feasible.”

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Ukrainians remind us that self-determination was never inscribed in the [United Nations] Charter as mere poetry. It is a weapon forged to protect the vulnerable from the powerful, the oppressed from their bullies.

This principle either bites or it is meaningless. And the task falls to the world’s oppressed—those bound by shared struggle across colour, creed, and race—to ignite its words with fire until they scorch through the lies of empires.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37547626

Archived

At least six German military trucks were destroyed in a suspected arson attack at a Bundeswehr facility in Erfurt, Germany, in what appears to be a Russian sabotage operation on NATO soil, revealed by a pro-Russian Telegram channel, Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi on June 26.

The footage shared by the channel shows multiple Rheinmetall MAN military trucks engulfed in flames. The authors claimed that the vehicles belonged to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and were supposedly sent to Erfurt for repairs—a claim easily disproven by the visible Bundeswehr markings and German license plates on the trucks.

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The trucks should have been secured within a military zone, meaning the attack not only caused significant material damage but also likely involved an unauthorized breach of a German military installation—a serious security violation that points to foreign intelligence involvement.

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The pro-Russian channel claimed the operation was carried out by “our people” and celebrated the destruction of equipment allegedly bound for Ukraine. However, the reality indicates a direct attack on German property and military readiness.

Authorities in Germany have not yet commented publicly on the incident or confirmed the extent of the damage, but investigations are expected to focus on potential Russian intelligence operatives or proxy networks operating within Germany. The attack follows a broader pattern of Russian sabotage attempts across Europe, targeting railways, military depots, and arms factories that support Ukraine’s defense.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37474535

Archived

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“[The officials] threatened to start a criminal investigation against us if we opened the coffin without permission. I asked them to show me at least a photo of the body to see what it looked like before it was placed in the coffin. They didn’t have one. They didn’t allow us to do a DNA test,” [widow Valeria] Mikhailova said [...] Without seeing and identifying the body, the Mikhailov family is not convinced that the remains in the coffin actually belonged to [Mikhailova's husband] Maxim, as authorities claimed.

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According to families, eyewitnesses, and Russian media reports, since the start of the war in February 2022, it has become common practice for Russian military personnel to request that relatives of dead soldiers not open the coffins they receive from Ukraine.

Authorities do not give a reason, simply informing relatives that opening coffins is against the law.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37386192

Archived

This is a Q&A session with Vera Granzeva, a Russian political scientist who has been living in exile in France since 2020 and teaches at the Sciences Po Paris Institute for Political Studies, with the French newspaper L'Express.

Q: Putin continues to claim that he is ready to "negotiate" to end the war in Ukraine. What is his goal? To buy time?

Granzeva: When analyzing Putin's strategy, two parameters must be taken into account. First, communication for him is not a means of explanation or finding a solution, but a weapon designed to deceive. He learned this in the school of the KGB. And second, words have no value in his eyes. Only actions matter - and this is what Westerners fail to understand because they live in a different world. When listening to Putin, remember that his words are worthless. Watch what he does, not what he says.

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Putin understands only force, he does not respect the very idea of compromise or negotiations, he perceives them as signs of weakness. That is why all the attempts of Western leaders on the eve of the war - when Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz went to Moscow - were counterproductive. Putin interpreted them as a green light to start the war. He saw confirmation of his vision of Europe: Europe is weak and unable to resist him. How to use force against Putin? The shortest and most effective way is military. If NATO had participated in this war from the very beginning, it would have lasted three days, because we saw the weaknesses of the Russian army.

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Putin is at a dead end. But there are other people in Russia who are listening. For three years, the Kremlin's strategy has been to tell the Russian elite and people: wait, don't worry, this won't last long, the Europeans are weak and unable to keep their word, wait a little longer. If Europe tightens sanctions, it will sow doubt among these political elites. Maybe not Putin's inner circle, the war criminals, who know that there is no way out for them. On the other hand, the second circle, who will certainly one day be in power - because time is against Putin, he will grow old and gradually a new generation will come to power - is watching the situation develop. They wonder how all this will end: "What kind of Russia will our children live in?"

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Today's Putin is very different from the Putin of 2012. Today he is a man of war. He is transforming Russian society, creating a militant minority, strongly motivated by this war against the West and by the idea of revenge for the collapse of the USSR. He is also waging a hybrid war in Europe. He is capable of carrying out other "special military operations" against other European targets. But for this to happen, he will first have to succeed in freezing the front in Ukraine in a "Minsk 3" type agreement (The first Minsk agreements were agreements to end hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2014 and 2015).

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Putin's strategy remains total war against Europe. Although he is clearly not in a position to start a second war today, it is quite possible that he is in a preparation phase, accumulating equipment and troops near the border, while simultaneously sowing fear in Finland in response to the country's alleged betrayal over its NATO membership.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37548187

Archived

The opposition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) has criticised Prime Minister Robert Fico's stance at the European Council summit in Brussels, where Slovakia, alongside Hungary, rejected the new package of sanctions against Russia and opposed military support for Ukraine, calling it a continuation of a dangerous, out-of-touch policy that isolates Slovakia from the core of the EU and NATO and plays into the hands of Vladimir Putin’s regime.

"Prime Minister Fico has once again shown himself to be a useful ally of Kremlin in Brussels. While the rest of the civilised world stands by the invaded Ukraine and holds the line of common European policy, the Slovak government stands aside, blackmails and weakens the unity of the European Union. This is unacceptable," said SaS leader Branislav Groehling.

According to SaS, Fico’s conditions for supporting sanctions against Russia, such as guarantees on gas prices or compensation for potential legal disputes with Gazprom, are merely excuses to sabotage joint decisions. The party said his behaviour undermines trust in Slovakia as a reliable partner. SaS also noted that Fico’s opposition to increasing defence spending directly contradicts NATO member countries’ commitments. The party called on the government to stop obstructing and dragging European policy into domestic “PR theatre.”

Following the one-day European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday night, Fico reiterated that Slovakia won't support the 18th package of sanctions against Russia unless it receives guarantees from the European Commission regarding the proposal to stop Russian gas imports from January 2028, while also praising the Commission’s constructive approach on the issue.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37412196

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A combined drone and missile attack on the capital Kyiv overnight on 16-17 June was one of the deadliest there in a year. At least 28 civilians were killed and more than 130 injured. Many others are still reported missing under the rubble of the 35 apartments destroyed that night.

Attacks also reportedly occurred in Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Kyiv provinces that same night, with two civilians reportedly killed and scores injured in Odesa.

“These levels of death and destruction risk dimming hope for an immediate ceasefire and threaten to undermine prospects for a lasting peace,” UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča said.

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Meanwhile, the front-line city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast is facing a looming "humanitarian catastrophe" as ongoing Russian strikes destroy critical infrastructure and leave thousands without basic services, Governor Vadym Filashkin said on June 25.

[...] The city has come under intensified attack in recent months as Moscow pushes westward beyond its gains around other nearby towns.

According to Filashkin, nearly half the city is without electricity due to shelling, and 1,900 households in the Santurynivka district have no access to gas, with restoration currently impossible. Water is supplied just once a day from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., meeting only 20–25% of the city's needs.

Drone strikes have halted all city bus operations, while the suburban route to Druzhkivka, a nearby town, is operating on a limited basis, Filashkin said.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37385162

Archived

• Despite international sanctions, Russia's strategic missile plant was able to import complex machinery to dramatically increase missile production.
• The Kyiv Independent has identified the equipment supplied to the plant, as well as the supply chains, mostly from China.
• We located the plant's new premises, built to house the new machinery.
• We obtained a document confirming that the plant received an order to produce intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the U.S. shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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The Votkinsk Plant, also known as the Votkinskiy Plant, — a strategic, state-owned facility serving Russia’s nuclear forces — has hired thousands of new workers, added new buildings, and brought in advanced machinery to significantly increase its missile production.

Ukrainians have felt it firsthand. Iskander-M ballistic missiles, with a range of up to 500 kilometers and assembled at Votkinsk, have been increasingly hitting Kyiv and other cities.

But the plant’s core mission is even more threatening: manufacturing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of delivering nuclear warheads across continents.

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Full-scale war has been a boon for Votkinsk: Since its start, the plant has expanded and increased output.

In 2024, Russia produced nearly three times more Iskander-M ballistic missiles than in 2023 — 700 compared to 250, according to RUSI, a London-based defense and security think tank.

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Russian authorities planned the expansion of the Votkinsk missile hub in 2022, after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The process began the following year, from 2023 to 2024, during which the arms manufacturer built new premises, renovated existing ones, hired additional staff, and procured new equipment for missile production.

Using satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs, we identified the location of the plant’s largest new facility: a sheet metal fabrication shop.

In 2023, the site was bare ground; by 2024, a new workshop had risen to house additional machinery.

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Simultaneously, the missile producer launched a recruitment drive, hiring an additional 2,500 employees during the first 2.5 years of Russia’s full-scale war, according to the plant’s director general.

The total number of employees now exceeds 12,000.

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Imported equipment came primarily from mainland China. Of the 10 contracts we identified, eight involved products supplied from China. In one of them, the goods came from a Chinese factory owned by a Taiwanese manufacturer.

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Taiwan-branded equipment intended for the missile plant was shipped to Russia by a Chinese company named Zhangzhou Donggang Precision Machinery Company, also known as Zhangzhou Dong Iron Precision Machinery Co.

This company operates as a subsidiary of the Taiwanese manufacturer Ecom — effectively, its Chinese production facility.

[...]

China provides more than machines

It is no secret that China is the largest supplier of equipment, electronic components, and materials that Russia seeks for weapons production.

The Kyiv Independent has reviewed the latest non-public report by the Ukrainian think tank Economic Security Council of Ukraine (ESCU) on the production of Iskander missiles, which are assembled at the Votkinsk Plant.

The report examined the supply of titanium, carbon fiber, and missile fuel components for Iskander production in 2024.

“Titanium is used to make the aerodynamic rudders that control a missile at launch, as well as for the body, nozzles, and combustion chambers of the engine,” explained Denys Hutyk, ESCU’s executive director.

The organization’s researchers found that the main flow of titanium products reached the Votkinsk Plant through a supply chain originating in China.

Russia’s largest titanium producer, VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, operates a subsidiary in Beijing — VSMPO Tirus Beijing Metallic Materials — which imports titanium ore from major Chinese manufacturers.

In addition, the Russian producer purchased primary titanium products through China’s Tianjin Chengan International Trading Company and India’s DCW. It then supplied Russian military plants, including Votkinsk, through a subsidiary trading house in Russia.

[...]