2023-11-21 14:23:43
Manufacturers of footwear for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine directly purchased $4.1 million worth of products from the EU in 2023. One of the largest suppliers turned out to be Belintertrans Germany Gmbh, the operator of the Belarusian Railway with an office in Germany, reports the Ukrainian investigative project Trap Aggressor.
Journalists examined samples of Russian military shoes left on the battlefield and in deoccupied Ukrainian territories. They found ankle boots made by Russian shoe manufacturers for law enforcement agencies – Donobuv, Faraday, Iskozh and Unichel.
After analyzing the trading bases, it turned out that these enterprises make purchases in European countries. In 2023, they purchased products for the production of combat boots for $4.1 million. The largest suppliers were three companies:
• Italian Conceria Cervinia Spa (supplied products worth $1.7 million);
• Belarusian-German Belintertrans Germany GmbH ($0.9 million);
• German Neuhaus GmbH ($0.7 million).
Thus, investigators named Belintertrans Germany the most active European partner of Unichel. It is an operator of the state Belarusian Railway with an office in Germany, which offers logistics services. The company was founded in September 2012. According to its website, it has signed a direct agreement to pay for freight transportation with Russian Railways and “is creating premium conditions for servicing container transportation by rail between Germany, Russia and China.”
According to investigators, Belintertrans Germany sent goods to Russia on behalf of an enterprise called Taiga International Trading Srl, an Italian company owned by Russian businessmen. The Russian-language website of the latter says that it is the most important strategic partner of the Russian Unichel.
In total, the Belarusian-German enterprise supplied creams, rubber and other shoe products to Unichel for 900 thousand dollars in 2023, journalists say.
As for other European companies from which Russian manufacturers of military boots purchase products, among them are the German Jakob Keck Chemie GmbH ($300 thousand), Salamander Sps GmbH & Co.Kg ($140 thousand), the Spanish Celme Sl ($400 thousand dollars).
The authors of the investigation note that the European Union did not apply a full-fledged embargo on trade with Russia, but only introduced restrictions on certain goods, for example, military or dual-use goods. Leather, rubber, soles or other products for the manufacture of clothing and footwear are not subject to the ban, and therefore can be safely sold from the EU to Russia.
In addition, Russian shoe manufacturers were not subject to European sanctions, despite the fact that some of them were on Ukraine’s sanctions lists. Thus, Donobuv and Faraday have been under restrictions in Ukraine since May 2023. The introduction of EU sanctions against these companies could complicate trade with them, although not completely stop it, journalists say.
Trap Aggressor has reached out to the listed European suppliers for comment but has not yet received a response. True, back in May 2023, the German Salamander publicly promised to stop trading with Russia.
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