Several Italian companies have been investing for more than ten years in the Russian industrial park «Stankomash» in the Chelyabinsk region, which is engaged in the production of military products, including engineering reconnaissance equipment, rocket motor casings for MLRS «Smerch» and aerial bombs, learned «Verstka»* and IRPI media. In addition, the Italian steel plant Cividale continued to supply the Kremlin with products for weapons production even after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In 2012, Cividale established a subsidiary in Russia called «BVK» — a foundry that is part of the industrial park «Stankomash». The Italian company invested 4.5 million euros in the enterprise.
As noted by «Verstka», the clients of «BVK» included LLC «Stankomash», a company of the same name that produces weapons and ammunition. This company was sanctioned by the United States back in 2022, and the foundry «BVK» — in June of last year. The reason — production of «products for the Russian naval industry». Meanwhile, the EU did not impose sanctions against these firms.
According to closed customs statistics available to the publication, since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, the Italian company Cividale has supplied goods to Russia worth more than 17 million euros. These include propeller blades for icebreakers, parts of steam turbines and oil and gas pumps, metal blocks, as well as large-caliber turning and milling equipment. The last shipment that journalists were able to find was dated April 2024.
From 2014 to 2023, the total revenue of the Cividale group in Russia exceeded 90 million euros. In the year of the invasion of Ukraine, the Italian company received 12.3 million euros from sales in Russia. In 2023, turnover fell to 5.6 million euros.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent».