Profit Over Everything: The Western Companies trafficking Weapons into Russia
By Logan Hall
Russia wants weapons, companies want profit; it is simply supply and demand, and as many criminals justify illegal activity by saying, ‘If they don’t do it, someone else will,’ the weapons companies, such as Italy’s Beretta and the Austria’s Glock, finding ways to send arms to Russia are no different. Shortly after Russia’s 2014 invasion of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine, the United States, Canada, and the European Union instituted sanctions against the import and export of weapons to and from Russia. The embargo had a strong immediate effect as weapons sales directly to Russia halted, but at the same time, Western arms imports to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia jumped. But why? Weapons companies in the West looking for profits had found a workaround for the embargo: sell weapons to these former Soviet countries and let them be trafficked into Russia from there.
Following Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, embargoes against Russia only got stronger. The financial markets were hit, oil and gas markets were rocked, the ruble plummeted, and the Russian economy, for a time, was on thin ice. Weapons from the West, however, never stopped moving. Imports to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia only continued to rise, and Western weapon companies developed even more complex workarounds to get their weapons into the hands of Russian forces. While some of these companies are blatant with their work in Russia, like Italian company Beretta, some are more inconspicuous, like Austrian company Glock.
Beretta is obvious with its dealings in Russia, barely trying to hide at all. In 2010, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Beretta purchased a 51% stake in Russia’s largest arms company, Russian Eagle LLC (Русский орел), and further expanded its control over Russian Eagle after the annexation of Crimea to a 57.95% stake in the company through Beretta Holding SA (Duchy of Luxembourg). This transaction was no small move for Beretta; over the years since the purchase, Russian Eagle has only become more of an essential asset in Beretta’s weapon dealings.
Russian Eagle’s other owner besides Beretta is Mikhail Khubutia, a Russian arms dealer known in Russia for importing Finnish, Italian, Austrian, and British weapons into Russia despite the weapons embargo. Khubutia, to this day, has managed to avoid being personally sanctioned by the European Union but is actively sanctioned by the United States. Khubutia is a controversial figure to be partnered with, but Beretta does not seem to care, as business between Beretta and Mikhail Khubutia is as strong as ever, leading up to today, when Russian Eagle’s website boldly states that it is the official supplier of Berettas in Russia. Beretta and other companies do not simply send weapons into Russia; the embargoes have worked to that regard, but through a complex network of companies and traffickers in former Soviet states, the weapons arrive in Russia with limited scrutiny.
The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Customs Union is the key to success for arms dealers. Similar in construction to the other customs unions like the European Union, the EAEU Customs Union is composed of five former Soviet republics, all of which maintain strong relationships with Russia. These countries are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and of course, Russia. The union collectively imposes tariffs on any goods entering the union, but upon entering, border policy becomes lax, and weapons are often freely bought and sold across borders due to lenient laws and regulations. While Russia and Belarus both have strict sanctions levied against them, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan do not. This means that weapons can be shipped into these neighboring allied countries without issue, allowing for the complex network of trafficking to begin.
In 2019 Kyrgyzstan imported zero weapons from Italy, but after war broke out between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, imports boomed to 4,434 rifles in 2023. The same story applies in Georgia, where imports of weapons from the United States rose from 431 in 2021 to 4,140 guns in 2022. This boom in weapons imports does not stop there; in Armenia, Italian weapon imports rose from less than 100 in 2019 to over 1,600 in 2023. Similarly, imports from the Czech Republic grew in Armenia from less than 100 weapons in 2019 to over 500 in 2023. In Kazakhstan, rifle imports from Türkiye have risen from around 500 in 2019 to almost 12,500 in 2023. This is a significant issue, as it shows that weapons companies from Italy, the Czech Republic, Türkiye, and the United States have all found ways around Russian embargoes.
While not all of the imported weapons are going into Russia, a sizable portion is, and this was made abundantly clear at a military sniper competition held in occupied Crimea in September of 2024. In this competition, over 70% of shooters used rifles manufactured in either the United States, Finland, the United Kingdom, or Austria, and a staggering 90% of snipers used American-made ammunition. This clearly illustrates the point that Russian soldiers at the highest levels are not only able to get their hands on Western-made weapons but also prefer the weapons so easily and clearly over their Russian counterparts, which were used by just 30% of competitors.
The Austrian weapons manufacturer Glock is also a key supplier of pistols to Russia. As is Beretta, Glock is also deeply associated with Russian Eagle and Khubutia. Austria is in a far different situation than Italy and Beretta, however, as they are officially neutral, meaning they are not in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or the European Union. Though, Austria did support the European Union’s sanctions against Russia in March 2022. This means that all Glocks that arrived in Russia after March of 2022 are illegal and got there illegally.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine until 2024, 3,606 Glock pistons have been imported into Russia through a complex network of companies to avoid sanctions. Of these 3,606 Glocks, 3,203 were produced by Austrian Glock GmbH, while the other 403 were produced by American Glock Inc. 1,677 pistols were imported by the following Russian companies, all linked to Russian Eagle, Kolchuga LLC (Кольчуга), Orel LLC (Орел), Test-Oruzhie LLC (Тест-Оружие), and Fort LLC (Форт), another 150 pistols and 115 Austrian ISSC SPA carbines in .22 caliber were imported by Russian company Alliance LLC (Альянс). The remaining weapons were imported by a variety of Russian companies, two of which are owned by Nikolai Nefedov a Russian arms businessman, Aurora LLC (Аврора) which imported 545 pistols, and Novo-Obninsk LLC (Ново-Обнинск-Импорт), which imported 35 pistols. The remaining 421 pistols were imported by Artemida LLC (Артемида), which is owned by Anatoly Yezhelev. These companies do not just import Glocks to sell to the Russian public for self-defense or sport. Dmitry Rogozin, the former head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency, posed for the media in occupied Donetsk, Ukraine, in October 2022 sporting an Austrian-made Glock. Rogozin’s blatant flaunting of his Glock shows the prominence of Glocks on the battlefields of Ukraine, showing how sanctions are failing to prevent Western-made weapons from reaching the hands of Russian soldiers invading Ukraine and how Western companies are finding ways around sanctions to bolster profits despite the blood that comes with every bullet.
The European Union and United States need to find a solution and fast to stop Western arm manufacturers from selling weapons directly into the hands of their enemies. If the European Union and United States are serious about ending the war in Ukraine for their own regional security or for their own pocketbooks, stopping the prolific dissemination of these weapons is essential. One route that the United States and European Union can take to help stop the importation of Western weapons into Russia is to crack down on the suppliers of the weapons. Beretta, Glock, and other weapons manufacturers that are allowing their weapons into Russia do the vast majority of their business in either the United States, the largest weapons market in the world, or in Europe. Together the United States, Canada, and European nations can ban the sale and production of these weapons until they divest or cut relations with their Russian business partners and counterparts. The move to ban the sale and production of their weapons would drastically hurt their bottom line, and because these companies care about profit over everything, it could be a sure solution to stop these companies from collaborating directly with Russian companies to move their weapons.
This plan is not without drawbacks. In the United States, especially where the 2nd amendment is gospel to many Americans, banning the sale of weapons from specific arms companies would surely cause protest no matter the reason. Politicians in the United States may not like this option, especially since their constituents who own guns would be less likely to vote for someone who they view as taking away their rights. The NRA and other arms-related lobbying firms and NGOs would also be against this plan, as it would hurt their own funding, pocketbooks, and influence.
A different method can also be taken, targeting the countries that are most prolific for arms trafficking, the countries that are used to circumvent sanctions, and the countries that have the most to gain by partnering with Russia. These are, of course, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia, the countries that are part of the EAEU Customs Union. The United States and European Union can place blanket weapon embargoes on these countries. The embargoes would target the routes in which weapons companies are using to import the weapons into Russia and possibly cut off imports into Russia altogether as the previously used routes would disappear.
It is possible that this would only be a short-term solution, however, as new routes could be found to traffic the weapons through new countries, which would only push the problem back and not stop it altogether. Another drawback of this plan is that it would push the embargoed nations closer to Russia, as they would inevitably see the West as an enemy after the embargoes were placed. Furthermore, being viewed as an enemy of these countries would hurt the reputation of the West on the global stage. The West’s reputation and influence has already been dwindling because of the rise of China and expanded influence of Russia which has pushed many developing countries to turn to alternative solutions for development towards other great powers away from the old Western-led world order. These sanctions could result in more countries moving away from the West at an even greater rate.
Ultimately, the trafficking of weapons led by Western weapons companies and their subsidiaries and partners in Russia must end. As death tolls rise in Ukraine and as politicians begin to grow tired in their support of Ukraine, action must be taken now. Whether that action be banning the sale of weapons from specific companies or embargoing foreign nations to slow the flow of weapons into Russia, action must be taken. The West cannot stand by and watch as their own companies sell weapons in support of their enemies, allowing them to profit off of both sides of the bloody Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is time that policy is made, and steps are taken to thwart the trafficking of weapons into Russia to hopefully end the unjust invasion and occupation of Ukraine.
