Anna Hartz
A new report has now found American and Finnish components in ammunition made for Russian snipers.
International sanctions are meant to stop Russia from obtaining foreign technology and military supplies. But investigations continue to show that Western-made parts still reach Russian defence companies.
Russian manufacturer, foreign parts
Russian weapons manufacturer Promtekhnologiya is reportedly producing sniper cartridges with parts from companies in the United States and Finland, according to United24Media. The company makes weapons and ammunition under the ORSIS brand.
According to The Insider, Russian forces have received factory-assembled .308 Winchester cartridges containing cartridge cases made by US company Peterson and bullets produced by US manufacturer Hornady.
The ammunition was made for ORSIS sniper rifles. The cartridges reportedly used 178-grain Hornady BTHP Match or OTM bullets. Each bullet weighs around 11.53 grams.
The findings suggest that Russian manufacturers are no longer relying only on complete imported cartridges or ammunition assembled outside normal factory production. Promtekhnologiya is now said to have enough foreign components to use them in ammunition made at its own facilities.
10 million NATO bullets
When American parts were not available, the company reportedly used Lapua Scenar bullets made in Finland. Those cartridges contained Russian-made Irbis 570 powder and cartridge cases marked ORSIS.
Testing mentioned by The Insider showed that the ammunition produced groups of around 0.5 minutes of angle at 300 metres. This equals a spread of roughly 4.5 centimetres.
The report follows an earlier investigation by The Insider. It found that more than 10 million bullets made in NATO countries entered Russia between March 2022 and February 2024.
Some of the ammunition included precision rounds in calibres such as .338 Lapua Magnum and .375 CheyTac. These are commonly used for long-range shooting.
The investigation also found signs that some American components reached Russia through European countries. In June 2022, Russian company IF Tetis registered a shipment of Hornady bullets. The testing documents for the shipment had been issued by Finland’s Lapua Test Shooting Lab.
Ukraine’s military intelligence has also reported finding thousands of foreign-made components in Russian weapons. Its earlier investigation identified 5,816 foreign parts in 202 Russian weapons systems, including missiles, drones and armoured vehicles.
The latest findings suggest that Russia continues to find ways around sanctions and maintain access to foreign-made military components.
Sources: The Insider, United24Media
