Russian trading companies have continued to buy weapons from Europe and America despite the sanctions that began in 2014, Correctiv reports.
According to the publication's journalists, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has imported about 7,300 firearms, including about 100 sniper rifles and almost eight million rounds of ammunition from Western manufacturers.
Among the manufacturers imported by the Russian Federation are American Smith & Wesson, Barrett Firearms and Desert Tech, Austrian Glock and Steyr Arms, as well as German companies Merkel Jagd-und Sport Waffen GmbH, Nammo Schönebeck, RWS, Ruag Ammotech, Blaser and others.
The investigators analyzed open sources and concluded that some of these weapons were used in the war against Ukraine. For example, soldiers from Wagner's private military company used weapons from Desert Tech, and former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin posed for photos with a Glock and an AR-15. In addition, Russians use Blaser R8 carbines.
Correctiv notes that the weapons came to Russia through third countries. For example, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, exports of hunting and sporting weapons from Germany to the UAE, Croatia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Poland, and Uzbekistan have increased.
