LONDON, United Kingdom – Chemical substances factories based or owned by a few of Russia‘s wealthiest males are supplying elements to vegetation that manufacture explosives utilized by Moscow’s navy through the warfare in Ukraine, an evaluation of railway and monetary information exhibits.
Reuters recognized 5 chemical firms, through which 5 Western-sanctioned billionaires maintain stakes, that supplied greater than 75% of the important thing chemical compounds shipped by rail to a few of Russia’s largest explosives factories from the beginning of the warfare till September this yr, based on the railway information.
The information company’s evaluation demonstrates for the primary time how closely factories forming a part of Russia’s warfare machine depend on these males and their firms.
The billionaires embody Roman Abramovich, former proprietor of Chelsea Soccer Membership, and Vagit Alekperov, who was ranked by Forbes in April as Russia’s richest man with a fortune estimated at $28.6 billion.
Abramovich and Alekperov didn’t reply to requests for remark despatched by way of their firms or attorneys. London-listed Evraz, through which Ambramovich holds a 28% stake, mentioned it provided the chemical compounds for “civilian use solely.” Lukoil, a refiner through which Alekperov retains a shareholding, mentioned it “doesn’t manufacture explosives or any associated elements.”
Anna Nagurney, a College of Massachusetts professor who intently research provide chain networks associated to the Ukraine-Russia warfare and reviewed Reuters’ findings, mentioned the 5 firms have been aiding Moscow not solely by offering important chemical elements for munitions but in addition by incomes much-needed laborious forex from exports of civilian merchandise, together with fertilizers.
“These chemical firms could also be working as civilian ones, however they’re sustaining the warfare effort,” Nagurney mentioned.
To find out from the place Russia’s fundamental munitions factories obtained their provides, Reuters analyzed the motion of greater than 600,000 rail shipments that carried the chemical compounds wanted to make explosives from the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 by means of September 2024.
The railway information from two industrial databases in Russia was provided to Reuters by the Open Supply Centre, a British-based NGO dedicated to gathering publicly-available intelligence and monitoring potential sanctions violations. It detailed the kind of cargo in each railway wagon, the load, origin and vacation spot, and the names of the corporate that despatched the products and the corporate that obtained them.
Reuters cross-checked the info from the 2 databases to verify its accuracy. Nevertheless, the information company was unable to verify whether or not the info included each rail cargo to the explosives factories, or the extent to which the vegetation obtained deliveries by highway.
The info confirmed that the billionaires’ firms provided important elements to 5 explosive and gunpowder factories in Russia which can be topic to Western sanctions. The vegetation are subsidiaries of the large Russian state arms producer and automaker Rostec.
Utilizing leaked tax invoices overlaying components of 2023, Reuters was additionally capable of confirm that 4 of the chemical compounds corporations have been suppliers to 4 of the explosives producers.
Neither the Kremlin, the protection ministry, nor Rostec responded to Reuters’ questions on civilian firms’ function in supplying Russia’s munitions business.
Earlier than the warfare, all of the explosives vegetation, as a part of efforts to diversify, additionally used to make explosives or gunpowder for civilian use. Reuters couldn’t decide whether or not such civilian gross sales proceed and whether or not the chemical compounds provided may be earmarked for civilian utilization.
Thomas Klapotke, a professor of energetics on the College of Munich, who helped Reuters analyze the info, mentioned that, whereas all of the uncooked supplies had many potential makes use of, the mix of wagon-loads of particular chemical compounds wanted for explosives manufacturing arriving at explicit vegetation supplied “crimson flags.”
The evaluation supplies recent proof that the West’s technique of imposing sanctions on Russia as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine has did not curb its navy manufacturing, based on a number of consultants interviewed by Reuters.
Whereas the billionaires themselves are all below Western sanctions, the chemical firms concerned have largely escaped main monetary penalties or bans on their import of vital items from the USA or the European Union.
Many of the output of those chemical vegetation are civilian merchandise like fertilizer which can be vital to farming. Lengthy-standing Western insurance policies exempt meals from sanctions to stop famine and diplomatic blowback from creating nations.
Peter Harrell, a former senior White Home official who labored on Russia sanctions through the warfare’s first yr and is now a scholar on the Carnegie Endowment for Worldwide Peace, mentioned maybe it’s time to overview these 2022 selections now that nations that when relied on Ukraine and Russia for wheat and fertilizer have had time to search out various sources.
“Probably, the calculus would weigh in direction of imposing sanctions on these firms in the present day,” Harrell mentioned, commenting on Reuters’ findings.
Nevertheless, Manish N. Raizada, an agriculture professor on the College of Guelph in Canada, warned that imposing sanctions on Russian chemical firms may put a whole lot of tens of millions of small-scale farmers in danger, in return for a minor financial influence on Russia.
Spokespersons for the US Treasury Division, which coordinates Washington’s sanctions, and the United Nations Improvement Program declined to touch upon Reuters findings.
A European Fee spokesperson, in response to questions concerning the chemical compounds firms, mentioned: “We’re actively exploring the chances for added measures to step up stress and shut loopholes in a fashion that might keep away from adverse implications for meals safety.”
The spokesperson confused that any motion would solely come after cautious evaluation of the effectiveness of any measures and their influence on European firms. Nevertheless, he famous that EU sanctions would already apply to the businesses, even when they weren’t particularly designated, in the event that they have been managed or owned by a sanctioned particular person.
Artillery warfare
The warfare in Ukraine has turn out to be an artillery duel the place a scarcity of excessive explosives out there to NATO and Ukraine has allowed Russian forces to realize swathes of territory this yr, based on a number of Ukraine commanders interviewed by Reuters.
Moscow is investing closely in navy manufacturing and searching for to replenish its munitions stockpiles. In 2024, Russia produced about 2.4 million artillery rounds and imported 3 million from North Korea, based on a Ukraine safety official. The North Korean embassy in London didn’t return calls from Reuters searching for remark.
The 5 munitions vegetation provided by the billionaires’ firms embody the large Sverdlov facility in Dzerzhinsk. The plant is the one vital maker in Russia of the plastic explosives HMX and RDX utilized in artillery and missiles, based on a Ukrainian intelligence official.
Two factories run by Eurochem — based by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko — provide chemical compounds to Sverdlov, based on the railway information.
Eurochem is likely one of the world’s largest producers of mineral fertilizers. Its Nevinnomysskiy Nitrogen plant in southwest Russia has despatched a minimum of 38,000 metric tons of acetic acid to Sverdlov through the Ukraine warfare, based on a Reuters evaluation of the railway information.
A second Eurochem facility, Novomoskovskiy Nitrogen despatched almost 5,000 metric tons of nitric acid to Sverdlov in the identical interval, the railway information confirmed.
Each acetic acid and nitric acid are used to make HMX and RDX.
In line with Reuters calculations, based mostly on scientific literature and reviewed by an explosives professional, 5,000 tons of nitric acid could possibly be used to make 3,000 tons of RDX, sufficient to fill 500,000 large-caliber artillery shells.
The tax invoices reviewed by Reuters confirmed that Eurochem was a provider to Sverdlov final yr.
In response to detailed questions, Eurochem mentioned Reuters’ reporting contained “quite a few materials factual errors.” Particularly, “EuroChem shouldn’t be a part of the protection sector of the Russian financial system and none of our merchandise are designed for navy functions,” learn a press release from the corporate, which is headquartered in Switzerland. Eurochem mentioned that any suggestion Melnichenko managed the corporate was false.
Melnichenko didn’t reply to questions. The billionaire, mentioned by Forbes to be value $17.5 billion, positioned his controlling stake in Eurochem right into a belief that advantages his spouse, as Reuters has reported, after the imposition of sanctions on him by the EU and Nato following the invasion of Ukraine.
The assertion mentioned that whereas 97% of its output is fertilizer, Eurochem provides different industrial merchandise, together with these chemical compounds, to a large variety of shoppers in Russia and overseas. The corporate didn’t reply Reuters’ questions concerning the chemical shipments to Sverdlov. Questions despatched to the e-mail deal with on Sverdlov’s web site went unanswered.
Tax information
One other fertilizer big, Uralchem, based by sanctioned billionaire Dmitry Mazepin, supplied Sverdlov greater than 27,000 metric tons of ammonium nitrate, the railway information confirmed. Ammonium nitrate is used to make HMX and RDX, and can be blended with TNT to supply an explosive referred to as Amatol. Uralchem additionally provided 6,000 metric tons of nitric acid from its nitrogen fertilizer plant in Berezniki to Sverdlov, the info confirmed.
Two different state-owned munitions vegetation, the Tambov Gunpowder Plant and Kazan Gunpowder Plant, obtained shipments of acids from Uralchem, the rail information confirmed.
The leaked Russian tax invoices, reviewed by Reuters, additionally revealed that Uralchem provided the Sverdlov, Tambov, and Kazan factories in addition to the state-owned Perm Powder plant final yr.
Requested intimately concerning the shipments, Uralchem mentioned the knowledge was “incorrect.” It didn’t present additional particulars or rationalization.
Mazepin, who diminished his possession of the corporate from 100% to 48% simply after the invasion of Ukraine, couldn’t be reached for remark. The Tambov, Perm, and Kazan vegetation didn’t reply to questions despatched to electronic mail addresses listed on their web sites or on company filings.
A metal plant in Siberia owned by London-listed Evraz provided 5,000 metric tons of toluene — an ingredient for TNT — to the Biysk Oleum Plant, based on the rail information. Evraz was sanctioned in 2022 by the British authorities which mentioned it provided metal to the Russian navy.
In a press release, Evraz mentioned it solely provided toluene for “civilian use solely.” The Biysk Oleum plant, a unit of Sverdlov, didn’t reply to requests for remark.
In April 2024, the federal government of Altai area, which incorporates town of Biysk, listed the plant amongst producers that “considerably elevated” their 2023 manufacturing in fulfilment of state protection procurement contracts.
Reuters recognized two different billionaire-linked firms supplying chemical compounds to munitions factories. The Sredneuralsk Copper Smelting Plant (SUMZ) within the Ural mountains, based by metals magnate Iskander Makhmudov, supplies oleum — often known as fuming sulphuric acid — used within the Tambov, Kazan, and Perm powder vegetation.
The Lukoil refinery in Perm supplied 6,500 metric tons of toluene to the Perm powder plant, Kazan, and Biysk. Lukoil is part-owned by billionaire Alekperov, the corporate’s former president. Like others, he divested many shares in 2022 however retained an 8.55% stake.
The tax invoices reviewed by Reuters confirmed that the Lukoil plant was a provider to the Perm powder plant final yr. In addition they doc shipments from SUMZ to the Kazan and Perm vegetation.
In a press release, Lukoil mentioned its Perm refinery “doesn’t manufacture explosives or any associated elements” and that questions from Reuters about shipments from there contained “absurd speculations.”
SUMZ didn’t reply to detailed questions. Its guardian firm, UMMC, which is below sanctions by the US and Britain, didn’t reply to a request for remark. Makhmudov, who divested his controlling stake in 2022, based on Forbes, additionally couldn’t be reached for remark. – Rappler.com
