Russia receives equipment from Italian brands worth $2.3 million despite EU sanctions
21 October 2025 12:11
Italian equipment worth more than $2.3 million was supplied to Russia in 2024-2025, and its manufacturers – FPT Industrie, HELVI, and HARDITALIA – were represented at the Metalworking-2025 industrial exhibition in Moscow. This is stated in a study by the Economic Security Council of Ukraine, Linkiesta reports, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs
Among the 49 shipments were goods subject to EU sanctions due to potential use in the military industry.
After analyzing customs data, the Economic Security Council of Ukraine found the sale of a sanctioned computer numerical control (CNC) machine from FPT Industrie S.p.A. The Italian equipment worth $1.83 million was exported by Kazakhstan’s Genius Loci LLP, which also participated in Metalworking 2025.
A similar machine by FPT Industrie S.p.A. was also in the official catalog of Metalworking-2025.
Another Italian company, HARDITALIA S.R.L., directly sold its equipment to Russia. Among the 19 deliveries in 2024-25 worth $273,129 were grinding machines, hydraulic presses, wire and gear forming machines – all of which are included in Annex I of European Regulation 833/2014, which prohibits the export of goods for potential military use to the Russian Federation.
russia received 29 shipments of Italian HELVI goods worth $288,870 in transit through Turkey, including arc welding machines, electrical discharge machines, and static converters, which are included in the list of dual-use goods.
An official subsidiary called Helvi LLC operates in Russia, promoting and distributing Italian products through the website helvi-weld.ru, using the same brand, materials and graphics as the parent HELVI.
“Most of these products are already subject to EU sanctions. Therefore, the key issue is compliance and liability for violations. It should be borne by both Italian companies and the government of the country, because enforcement of EU sanctions is the responsibility of the member states,” explained Roman Steblivskyi, expert on political issues and advocacy at the Economic Security Council of Ukraine.
Earlier, the Economic Security Council of Ukraine found that Italy was one of the main suppliers of epoxy resin required for the production of Iskander-M missiles, and India provided half of the imports of fuel additives to Russia, which are added to the fuel of Su-34 and Su-35S fighters.
