Categories: INVESTIGATIONS

Russian manufactures of Kinzhal missiles are not under EU sanctions

Russian manufacturers of Kinzhal missiles are not under EU sanctions and still import equipment and components from Europe.

After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine started, contractors of military companies that produce Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles are not under European sanctions yet and continue importing equipment and components to produce missiles from different EU countries, The Insider claims in its investigation.

The manufacturer of the Kinzhal and Iskander missiles is the Machine Building Design Bureau (KBM), which is part of the High-Precision Complexes holding of the Rostec state corporation, located in Kolomna near Moscow. Its contractors escaped sanctions restrictions and continue importing equipment and components to produce missiles from Europe and China, investigators say.

One of the KBM contractors, as the publication says, is ETS Electronics, a Moscow-based company created in 2021. This company imports microcircuits used in Kinzhals from Texas Instruments, Analog Devices and Altera into Russia through the Chinese company ETC Electronics Limited.

Especially a lot of supplies come from Germany. Thus, turning machines from NPK KBM were supplied by KEB-Rus LLC. It is a partner of the German company KEB, an authorized supplier of components and a developer of control systems for technological processes and equipment based on them. During the war, KEB-Rus imported, for example, cables from Germany.

The investigators write that another company registered in Moscow, Ostek-Test, purchases heat and cold chambers made by Espec in Poland for KBM. The Polish counterparty of Moscow’s company is Intertrans Sp. z o.o. from Siedlce.

The supplier of integrated circuits for KBM and another Rostec enterprise, the Scientific Research Institute of Electronic Devices (NIIEP), which develops the “brains” for the Kinzhals, is, according to investigators, the Radiant-EK company. Now it also imports reels and tapes for protective packaging of electronic components from Germany and its counterparty is Germany’s Advantek Gmbh.

Gun drills and other tools from the German manufacturer Sandvik are supplied for KBM by “Mir Stanochnika” LLC. The counterparty of this company in Berlin is IR-Logistik GMBH.

According to The Insider journalists, KBM imports the lathes for making Kinzhal components from Germany through KEB-RUS LLC. This is a partner of the German company KEB, which produces control systems for technological processes and equipment based on them.

The Insider writes that the supplier of measuring instruments and metalworking machines from leading world manufacturers for KBM and NIIEP is Sonatek LTD. Among Sonatek’s counterparties are European companies UAB Breitto (Lithuania), Baltic Shipping Agency LTD Sp. z o.o. (Poland), UAB “CUST LT” (Lithuania), Hermis Ekspo SIA (Latvia), Groupe D’Investissement Financier SA (Belgium), Aberlink Ltd (UK) and others.

The Insider investigators also found out that the daughter of the head of the Machine Building Design Bureau corporation, Sergei Pitikov, Maya, lives in in the town of Rydsgård near Malmö (Sweden), where she owns a house worth about 500 thousand euros.

In a conversation with The Insider, Maya Pitikova said that “the Putin regime is waging a criminal, bloody, senseless war,” but refused further comments: “I am not ready to participate in a conversation that is initially aimed against my father.”

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, the United States and other countries have imposed export control measures to limit Russia’s access to technology and other resources that could support its defense industrial complex. Those involved in the purchase of advanced Western electronics and equipment for the Russian military-industrial complex are being charged and placed under arrest by the US authorities.

Ukraine Front Lines