Nikkei Asia: Russia reimports spare parts for tanks and missiles it previously sold to India and Myanmar

Russia is believed to be buying back parts for tanks and missiles it sold to India and Myanmar to repair or modernize its equipment and weapons for the war against Ukraine.

Nikkei Asia writes about it.

Journalists of the publication analyzed customs clearance data, which indicate that Russia reimports components for weapons from two countries.

The reimported equipment includes, in particular, more than 6 000 sighting optical tubes and about 200 cameras that can be used to retrofit old Russian T-72 tanks.

Also, in August and November 2022, one of the Russian missile manufacturers purchased from the Ministry of Defense of India components for a night vision sight on self-produced anti-aircraft missiles in the amount of $150 000.

In the customs clearance data, it is stated that the equipment was allegedly defective, so it was returned to Russia. Meanwhile, analysts of the publication claim that the large number of military products involved in the reimport and its timing call into question the cause of the failure of the components.

• Russia is the largest arms supplier to India. However, after the introduction of Western sanctions, the parties cannot find a way to pay for military supplies. For a year now, India has not been able to pay more than $2 billion for Russian weapons.
• Myanmarʼs military junta imported at least a billion dollars worth of weapons after the coup. The vast majority of weapons and equipment comes to the country from individuals and companies from Russia, China and Singapore.
• According to the General Staff, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost 3 848 tanks, 7 523 armored fighting vehicles, 3 567 artillery systems, etc.