German weapons are still being exported to Russia, bypassing sanctions

"Since the beginning of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, over 7,000 units of civilian firearms from Western manufacturers and nearly 8 million rounds of ammunition have ended up in Russia despite sanctions," as reported by the German media resource, Correctiv.

According to the authors of the publication, some of this weaponry is being used in Russia's war against Ukraine, which is facilitated by the loopholes in sanctions.

The investigators noted a Russian Telegram channel representing a weapons trading portal that supplies arms to the "Wagner Group," with photos captioned "A new shipment of sniper rifles has arrived." These photos reveal a rifle and instructions specifying the manufacturer, the German company Blaser GmbH.

Furthermore, the article mentions that through Telegram channels, one can trace other types of firearms from Western manufacturers, such as Austrian Glock pistols and AR-15-type rifles.

The authors of the investigation emphasize that while the United States currently tightly restricts the export of civilian firearms, Germany does not plan to introduce restrictions, even though the weapons end up in Russia indirectly through intermediaries in other countries.

In response to the investigation, Roderich Kiesewetter, a Bundestag deputy and deputy chairman of the parliamentary control committee from the opposition CDU party, called on the German government to join the United States in suspending the export of civilian firearms, with exceptions for deliveries to Ukraine and Israel.