How Western machinery is helping Russia kill Ukrainians

Military production in Russia is driven by specialist metallurgical machinery, which Russia is still largely unable to produce by itself due to technical deficiency.

The most problematic of these are computer numerical control (CNC) machines and coordinate measuring machines (CMMs).

CNC machines are used to make precise components used in most rockets and high-tech weaponry. About 70 percent of all CNC machinery in Russia is imported, with 80 percent of all machines ending up in the hands of Russia’s military industry.

From January 2021 to July 2023, think tank StateWatch estimates that Russia imported €1.3bn of these machines.

CMMs, which check the precision of cuts to levels smaller than 1/1,000 of a millimetre, are also imported by Russia due to a lack of Russian domestic production. European production of these machines is dominated by German companies.

With the help of open-source intelligence tools (OSINT), EUobserver has identified some European companies in this business.

Western tech fuels Russian arms

One of the key weapons in Russia’s war against the Ukrainian people is rockets, which it also fires at residential areas. By the end of 2023, Russia had fired over 7,400 missiles and 3,900 drones towards Ukrainian targets. Some of these are downed by Ukrainian defenders, providing journalists with clues as to their origin.

In December 2022, Ukraine’s National Guard unit successfully intercepted a Russian-made KH-101 (X-101) rocket from reaching its target, downing it with machine gun fire. Serial numbers found in the wreckage link the engine of the rocket to the UEC-Saturn aerospace factory, a key company involved in the supply of construction of engines for the Russian aviation sector, located in the Russian city of Rybinsk.

In recent years, the factory has become infamous for its production of rocket engines for the Russian military. The factory was placed under EU sanctions as part of the bloc’s third sanctions package in March 2022.

Despite this, sensitive European technology can be observed being used throughout the company.

The factory’s collective agreement documents list numerous foreign equipment providers, including CNC-controlled machines from Germany company Kellenberger, Japanese producer Sodick, and American WMW. These machines create intricate components from metal, which are vital for the aerospace industry.

Unlike other military factories, UEC-Saturn’s pre-war access to precision equipment was facilitated by its civilian aviation production, which has now been also decimated by sanctions. Supplies of spare parts and technology from its former French partner Safran Aircraft Engines dried up in March 2022. The factory is now increasingly oriented towards rocket engine production for the Russian military.

Footage from within the factory reveals more undeclared cutting-edge equipment.

In a video posted in May 2022 by a Russian TV station, a C800U universal CNC milling machine produced by German manufacturer Hermle can be seen in operation at the plant. The German company has been accused of continuing its trade with Russia, channelling its products through Turkey. The company did not respond to EUobserver’s request for comment.

Russian public procurement data provides insight into how UEC-Saturn acquired this technology. According to documents viewed by EUobserver, in 2017-2022, UEC-Saturn awarded tenders with a total value of over €37m for the purchase of CNC equipment, excluding contracts for repairs and modernisation. Much of this equipment is Western-made.

The names of the bidding companies are hidden, but publicly available data shows that numerous transactions are regularly conducted in foreign currencies, notably Euros and Swiss Francs. Swiss machinery is likely over-represented in the trade of this specialist technology to the UEC-Saturn plant.

Over a third of all tenders from UEC-Saturn for CNCs in this period were paid for in Swiss Francs and while most bidder names are not available to view online, the Russian subsidiary of Swiss CNC manufacturer Galika AG appears on one tender paid for in Swiss Francs, which was finalised in 2018.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, deals for CNC equipment are still being concluded through semi-public procurement proceedings. One tender, fulfilled by an unknown company and worth up to 2.9 million Swiss Francs (€3m), was finalised in March 2022 and is currently being studied by Russian authorities.

Precision traffic

UEC-Saturn is not the only factory producing munitions with the help of imported European technology. CNC and CMM machinery also fuel the production of Russia’s 4-tonne 9K720 nuclear-capable Iskander rocket. Russia has fired several Iskanders towards Ukraine since the start of its invasion.

The Votkinsk Machine Building Plant, located in Russia’s remote Udmurt Republic, is the main factory involved in the Iskander’s assembly. Despite falling under EU sanctions at the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022, public procurement records and customs data reveal an alarming trade in specialist machinery with the plant since 2014.

To produce its hypersonic arsenal, the Votkinsk plant relies on specialised measuring devices (CMMs), which before the start of the invasion it imported from Europe.

The European Commission includes CMMs on its list of "dual-use" goods, which require special permission to be exported to Russia. It is largely up to EU member states to decide for themselves what qualifies as a dual-use item, and this discrepancy is actively exploited by Russia.

The factory relies on a complex network of companies to traffic the controlled machinery to Russia.

Moscow-based Impex Craft is responsible for sourcing this equipment for Votkinsk and other major military factories. It is a leading importer of Western CMM and CNC machinery, concluding over €3m in contracts with the Russian state-owned industry since 2014.

Impex Craft’s biggest business partner is Bulgarian "2M Trading," based in Bulgaria.

Both Impex Craft and 2M Trading are owned by Timofey Matyushin, a Russian national, who sits at the head of a technology holding company, Technostek Holdings, which actively cooperates with Rostec, Russia’s largest state-owned military conglomerate.

While data on the trade of this equipment is incomplete, since 2015, Impex Craft officially declared purchasing €1.5 million worth of CMM and CNC machines from the EU-registered company. On its official website, 2M Trading describes itself as a holding company "focused on Eastern Europe."

2M Trading supplied Russia with valuable measuring equipment from leading European manufacturers such as Wenzel, Mahr, or Coord3, according to trade records and references on their own website.

In a 2021 video, Wenzel owner Heike Wenzel also described Impex Craft as their "official partner" in Russia.

Impex Craft sells the machinery it purchases from the West to internationally sanctioned military factories. The company delivered CNC and CMM equipment to Russian factories responsible for the production of weapons, missiles, and mobile rocket systems.

Notably, Impex Craft has concluded over €660,000 of deals with JSC Tactical Missiles Corporation, parent company to most of Russia’s main producers of missiles used against Ukraine. It has also provided around €305,000 of services to the UEC-Saturn plant.

Equipment sent by 2M Trading to Russia is in operation at the Votkinsk factory, and likely many others.

In 2023, Impex Craft was awarded a contract from the Votkinsk factory to provide a US-made Micro-Vu Vertex 341 CMM machine as part of a modernisation project at the factory. According to Russian customs records, Impex Craft has been the sole importer of Micro-Vu equipment in Russia since 2014.

EU-registered 2M Trading delivered 10 shipments of Micro-Vu brand CMM machines to Impex Craft since 2015.

2M Trading did not respond to EUobserver’s request for comment.

Getting tough on exports

In a comment to EUobserver, the European Commission said that it was working with its international partners to help prevent the transfer of "dual-use" technology to Russia’s military industry.

The EU executive stresses that it is the responsibility of exporters and EU member states to ensure that they comply with export regulations for dual-use equipment. It also notes that it is keeping "a close eye" on companies re-exporting EU-sanctioned goods.

"While the implementation and enforcement of sanctions is the responsibility of EU member states, the Commission has dedicated significant efforts to support member states in this task," a commission spokesperson told EUobserver.

Despite these efforts, the Commission acknowledged that its diplomatic efforts were sometimes "insufficient", invoking the possible need to entirely halt exports of sensitive technology to troublesome third parties under the EU’s anti-circumvention tool.

Ukrainian activists decry the ineffectiveness of European authorities to stop the transfer of specialised machinery, including before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, to Russia’s military sector.

"It is much easier to evade sanctions than to prove their violation, and companies take advantage of that," explains Olga Yurchenko from the Economic Security Council of Ukraine, an NGO.

The organisation believes that Western allies should now act to stop the flow of specialist metallurgical machinery to Russia. They are calling for "smarter compliance regulations for CNC producers".

The NGO wants to force producers to implement a "Know-Your-Customer system" whereby companies must conduct thorough research on any potential client to ensure that machinery does not fall into the wrong hands. Non-compliance would result in penalties.

"By denying access to modern manufacturing tools, Russia will be unable to sustain its current military production levels," the NGO affirmed. "Sanctions must become a weapon of war."