Russia 'Buying Back' Arms Parts Exported to Myanmar and India

07 Juni 2023

T-72 tank of the Myanmar Army (photo : Myanmar Armour Corps)

TOKYO -- Russia is suspected of buying back military supplies previously shipped to Myanmar and India, according to a Nikkei analysis of customs clearance data.

The survey found records of Russian repurchases of parts for tanks and missiles that had been exported to Myanmar and India. Russia may be reimporting the components to improve older weapons destined for use in Ukraine, relying on help from countries with which it has long-standing military ties.

The U.S., European nations and Japan have banned exports of goods with potential military use to Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

Nikkei analyzed customs clearance data on shipments to Russia 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.

UralVagonZavod, which manufactures tanks for the Russian military, for example, imported military products from the Myanmar army for $24 million on Dec. 9, 2022. The components were registered as having been made by UralVagonZavod.

The harmonized system (HS) codes for the reimported goods suggest the company repurchased 6,775 sighting telescopes and 200 cameras for installation in tanks. They are "probably optical devices to measure distance to targets and zero in on them," said Nobuyuki Akatani, a retired senior officer from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force who was involved in developing tanks.

Russia has an inventory of around 5,000 tanks, according to the 2023 edition of "The Military Balance," an annual report published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a British think tank.

"Russia has a lot of old T-72s [tanks] in storage that are in need of modernization and could be sent to the front line afterwards," said Oleg Ignatov, a Russia analyst with the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank. "I can add that optics is a big problem for the Russian military-industrial complex. It's plausible that they are trying to get optics this way."

See full article Nikkei Asia