Formally, rifles are supplied to such countries as Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, etc. But during the three years of the full-scale war in Ukraine, these countries increased their arms imports several times.
Points of attention
- Russia circumvents sanctions to import Western-made sniper rifles through countries like Armenia, Georgia, and Kazakhstan.
- Many Russian soldiers prefer Western rifles over Russian weapons, leading to increased imports of Western arms despite the ban on direct exports to Russia.
- The Insider reports a significant rise in the supply of weapons from the EU, US, and Turkey to countries re-exporting them to Russia, with a notable preference for Beretta rifles.
- The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on individuals and entities from 17 countries involved in supplying advanced technology to support Russia's military machine, aiming to disrupt global sanctions evasion networks.
- The US and its allies are committed to taking decisive action to prevent the flow of critical tools and technology supporting Russia's war against Ukraine, as stated by Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.
Russia imports Western sniper rifles
Despite the sanctions, Russia continues to import thousands of Western-made sniper rifles and millions of cartridges for them. Although the direct export of weapons to the Russian Federation has been prohibited since 2014.
According to the journalists of The Insider, in recent years, companies from the European Union, the United States, and Turkey have repeatedly increased the supply of weapons to Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, from where the weapons are then apparently re-exported to Russia.
For example, the export of rifles and shotguns from Italy to Armenia increased almost 30 times in four years — from 68 units in 2019 to 1,862 units in 2023. Kyrgyzstan, which did not buy Italian weapons at all in 2020 and 2021, imported 882 rifles in 2022, and 4,434 in 2023. Georgia bought 8,426 rifles from Turkey in 2019, and already 18,843 in 2023.
According to The Insider, Russia buys rifles produced under the Beretta brand the most. In June 2024, the official Russian importer of Beretta weapons fell under US sanctions, but the Beretta holding itself, based in Luxembourg, remains the majority owner of the Russian company.
Many Russian military snipers are disgusted by Russian weapons and continue to use Western rifles and cartridges for them. This is confirmed by the protocol of sports competitions of military snipers, which took place in September in the occupied Crimea. At those competitions, Russian-made rifles were used by only 7 shooters out of 36, Russian cartridges — only four.
The USA introduced new sanctions against Russian henchmen
On October 30, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 275 individuals and entities involved in supplying Russia with the advanced technology and equipment it needs to support its military machine.
Both individuals and networks under the jurisdiction of 17 countries, including India, China, Switzerland, Thailand and Turkey, were included in the sanction list.
In addition to disrupting global sanctions evasion networks, these measures also target Russian domestic importers and producers of key components and other material support for Russia's military-industrial base.
The United States and our allies will continue to take decisive action from around the world to stop the flow of critical tools and technology that Russia needs to wage its illegal and immoral war against Ukraine, said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.
