Despite sanctions, Russia has doubled its imports of raw materials for explosives production, including from the US

Amid the war against Ukraine, Russia has significantly increased its imports of substances required for the production of ammunition. They are purchased, in particular, from companies based in the United States and other Western countries. This is despite international sanctions aimed at suppressing the military industry in Russia.

Source. The Wall Street Journal writes about this with reference to trade data.

In 2022, the first year of the invasion, Russian imports of nitrocellulose, which is used in the production of gunpowder and rocket fuel, increased by 70%. By mid-2023, the volume was 3,039 tonnes, almost double the amount in 2021, the report says.

"Defence companies around the world are looking for ways to produce nitrocellulose in the face of shortages, which has led to higher prices and created problems for production. Only a handful of countries produce nitrocellulose, as it is used for munitions and is subject to international trade restrictions," the WSJ writes.

The publication notes, citing American officials and analysts, that Moscow's ability to obtain nitrocellulose abroad played a decisive role in the war, as Russia itself produces too little of this substance, which is the main component of gunpowder in artillery.

After analysing trade data, journalists concluded that the supply of nitrocellulose to Russia after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions banning the export of any military and dual-use goods to Russia involved not only Chinese companies, but also companies from the United States, Germany and Taiwan.

For example, the Russian importer Analytical Marketing Chemical Group purchased $700,000 worth of nitrocellulose from Taiwan over the past two years. The company's website states that it is a partner of the Kazan State Powder Plant.

At the same time, almost half of the nitrocellulose exports to Russia over the two years of the war in Ukraine were made by a small company Noy İç Ve Diş Ti̇caret in Turkey, the authors of the article found out. The main sales of the company, which has an office in Istanbul, went to Russian companies that are official partners of the Russian government.

At the same time, 80 tonnes of nitrocellulose shipped by Noy to Russia in 2023 were purchased by a Turkish company from a German subsidiary of the New York-based International Flavours & Fragrances, according to the WSJ.

A spokesman for International Flavours & Fragrances said the company was extremely surprised that supplies of its nitrocellulose to Russia, which it suspended in April 2022, were still being made through a third party, the publication said.

Background. As reported, the EU has imposed sanctions on companies in China, Turkey and India for helping Russia. The EU Council notes that these entities are supporting Russia's military industry and armed forces bypassing restrictions.