Russian defense industry is now significantly constrained due to new economic sanctions, brain drain, component shortages, and work stoppages imposed since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022.
The report while raising speculations on Russia’s war capability and sustainability also hints at plausible ways whereby other states continue to assist Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in one way or the other putting so-called Western ambitions of Ukraine liberation to hang in balance. All of the parts, which are needed to ensure the missiles can perform at night and in low light, were basically manufactured by the KBM, which exported the same type of parts to India in February 2013. The Russian NPK KBM, the Russian initials for the Machine-Building Design Bureau, which is tasked with missile production, purchased a total of six components for night-vision sight for ground-to-air missiles for $150,000 from the Indian Ministry of Defense in August and November 2022.
Japan-based news outlet Nikkei recently shared its custom clearance data made available by ImportGenius, an American research specialist, Exim Trade Data of India and other sources, examining records on Russia’s imports of parts for weapons such as tanks and missiles.