Using the example of a Belarusian company, the BIC illustrates how banned goods move between Russia and Belarus. The drone engineering company KBBV buys German machine tools for production in Russia and sells drones and cruise missiles to Russia. Additionally, it sells drones and cruise missiles to Russia. Some of these shipments violate EU bans.
Rockets from Belarus, machine tools from China
The BIC discovered that ZAT KBBV (a closed joint stock company as defined by the law of Belarus), based in Minsk, had signed a contract with OOO NPO IZHBS (a limited liability company as defined by the law of the Russian Federation) for the production and supply of its developments. This enterprise is part of the JSC «Concern «Kalashnikov» and is subject to sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United States and other countries. The developments in question are the Mirotvorets strike drone and the small-sized Ascalon cruise missile. The BIC learned about the contract through a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Dagestan. It refers to KBBV as a supplier to security agencies in Belarus and Russia.
In addition to the contract data, we have identified one supply from KBBV to NPO IZHBS. According to customs records, the company shipped a “motorised vehicle for the transportation of goods” to Russia worth $67,000 in March 2024, as well as a two-tonne container worth $153,000.
Deliveries are also going in the opposite direction. Between the start of 2022 and May 2025, the company spent $221,000 on various foreign-made goods and components, which it purchased in Russia. Some of them were sanctioned. Most of the goods listed in the shipping documents originate from China, with an estimated value of around $200,000. These were most often electric drives for automation systems and machine tools for precise positioning, such as metal-cutting lathes and milling machines.
Western sanctioned goods of Chinese origin
In July 2024, the European Union imposed restrictions on the sale of specific goods groups to Belarus that “could contribute to the enhancement of Belarusian industrial capacities”. The ban applies to products manufactured both within and outside the EU. One such group is metal cutting equipment. Following the imposition of sanctions in July 2024, KBBV purchased Optimill MH25SV and Optimill MB4PV milling machines from the German brand Optimum. The trademark belongs to Stürmer Maschinen GmbH. However, as stated in the shipping documents, these particular machines are made in China.
The Belarusian firm was supplied with German-branded machine tools by OOO PG Vekprom (a limited liability company as defined by the law of the Russian Federation), a Russian company associated with the military industry that is under U.S. sanctions. They were delivered to Russia directly by the manufacturer. PG Vekprom purchased them in January, June and November 2023 from the Chinese company Yangzhou Developping IMP. & EXP. CO., LTD. This company is part of the Yangzhou Euro Group, which also owns Optimum (Yangzhou) Machinery Co., Ltd., the Chinese manufacturer of Optimum products under the German brand.
The EU introduced export controls on sales of this product category to Russia in June 2023. That is, the Chinese company violated the EU ban. We asked Yangzhou Developping IMP. & EXP. CO., LTD. and Stürmer Maschinen GmbH, whether this was intentional or not, in a request sent to them.
A representative of the Chinese company replied to BIC that they have not done business with PG Vekprom for around two years. Yangzhou Developping IMP. & EXP. CO., LTD. only sells “small machines (D.I.Y. products) to the two market which our China government allows to exported”.
This is not the first time that KBBV has come to the attention of BIC journalists. In an earlier investigation, we found that the company sold 28 helicopter-type drones to Russian military-related entities for nearly $12 million in December 2022, as well as in January and March 2023. Just like last time, the company ignored our email with questions. As of publication, we have not yet received a response from PG Vekprom.
