Russia is preparing for new EU sanctions - purchasing workbenches and components for weapons - ISW
Date: 2023-11-16 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WORLD
The European Union appears ready to ban the export of precision machine tools and key components for weapons production to Russia. The Kremlin is preparing for sanctions and hopes for import substitution.
As analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said in their report, if the EU introduces these restrictions in the 12th package of sanctions, then a serious blow will be dealt to the Russian defense industrial base. Europe may also prohibit the sale of welding machines, lithium batteries, thermostats, drone engines and other spare parts to the aggressor country.
According to experts, the Russian Federation is already preparing for new sanctions. In May 2023, the Russian government approved the “Concept of Technological Development until 2030,” which encourages domestic production of high-tech products. According to the plan, domestic enterprises must produce at least 75% of Russia's high-tech products.
The state defense conglomerate Rostec said in August 2023 that the STAN group, Russia's largest manufacturer of high-precision machines, which Rostec acquired in 2019, is the main element of the Russian import substitution program.
The head of RT-Capital, a subsidiary of state conglomerate Rostec, Semyon Yakubov said on October 26 that Western sanctions and the war in Ukraine have sharply increased Russian military and civilian demand for domestically produced machine tools. According to him, STAN was unable to fulfill even a third of the total volume of Russian orders for precision machines in 2023, amounting to about six billion rubles (approximately $67.1 million). Currently, Russian demand for precision machine tools “far exceeds” current production capabilities.
