The Economic Security Council of Ukraine together with the volunteer community InformNapalm investigated how European manufacturers exchange profits for the lives of Ukrainians.
russian military equipment is shelling towns and villages, taking the precious lives of civilians. russia has long been preparing for this war, increasing the capacity of its military-industrial complex. For the last 8 years, it has been doing so in the face of sanctions imposed in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea. All this time, neither EU-US sanctions nor russia's armed aggression in Europe have stopped dozens of Swiss, Italian and German firms from cooperating with russia.
In 2016, the Swiss company CODERE sold the equipment of the plant "Electromashina", which is part of the "Uralvagonzavod" corporation and supplies components for tanks manufactured by "Uralvagonzavod".
In 2017, OJSC Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, which produces 86% of all small arms in russia, received a machine from the Swiss GF Machining Solutions. Makarov and Yarigin pistols, manufactured by Izhmekh, were found in the village of Dymer in the Kyiv region after the withdrawal of russian troops.
In 2018, JSC Konstruktorskoe Buro Priborostroeniya (Instrument Design Bureau) in russian tula received 23 machines from the Swiss company GF Machining Solutions. The bureau produces "Pantsir" artillery systems, which russia uses in the war against Ukraine, grenade launchers, sniper rifles, submachine guns, etc.
Also in 2018, the largest manufacturer of aircraft engines in russia, PJSC "ODK-UMPO" received a universal grinding machine from the German Walter. SU-57 fighters on ODK-UMPO engines are now flying over Ukraine.
We’ve got evidence of cooperation with the russian defense industry of Swiss manufacturers Fritz Studer AG and Sylvac SA, German Index Traub and Blohm Jung GmbH, Italian Hexagon Metrology S.p.A. The equipment they supplied after the 2014 sanctions now makes weapons that kill Ukrainians.
How is this still possible? It's very simple - through shell companies. One of those whose services are widely used by Italian, Swiss and German companies is the Swiss company Galika AG. It sells equipment in russia through numerous branches.
Examining the tenders, we have found that only for 2016-2021, Galika CTS signed contracts worth rub 1.3 billion with russian clients. Its activities are actively continuing after February 24, 2022, when russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Considering the above, we have every reason to believe that European manufacturers know exactly the purpose of their products in russia.