“Chemical companies founded or owned by some of Russia’s richest people supply ingredients to factories that make explosives used by Moscow’s military during the war in Ukraine.”, — write: epravda.com.ua
Chemical companies founded or owned by some of Russia’s richest people supply ingredients to factories that make explosives used by Moscow’s military during the war in Ukraine. This is reported by Reuters. The agency identified five chemical companies in which five Western-sanctioned billionaires own stakes that supplied more than 75 percent of key chemicals shipped by rail to some of Russia’s biggest explosives factories between the start of the war and September this year These are EuroChem, Uralchem, UMMC, Lukoil and Evraz, which are linked to well-known Russian billionaires such as Roman Abramovich, Vagit Alekperov or Dmytro Mazepin.Advertisement: The analysis provides new evidence that the West’s strategy of imposing sanctions against Russia, as a punishment for its invasion of Ukraine, could not restrain its military production. While the billionaires themselves are under Western sanctions, their chemical companies have largely escaped significant financial sanctions or bans on imports of critical goods from the US or the European Union. Moscow is investing heavily in military production and is seeking to replenish its stockpiles of ammunition. In 2024, Russia produced about 2.4 million artillery shells and imported 3 million from North Korea, according to a SBU official.Advertisement: Most of the output of these chemical plants are civilian products, such as fertilizers, which are critical to agriculture. It is a long-standing Western policy to exempt food from sanctions to prevent famine and diplomatic strikes from developing countries.