Russia is hunting for spare parts: how Moscow is buying up Soviet components to block Ukraine's access to them
Kyiv • UNN
The Russian Federation is actively buying up Soviet-made parts all over the world in order to prevent them from reaching Ukraine.
Russia has launched a large-scale campaign to return components that it once exported to dozens of countries around the world. The focus is on parts that are critical for the repair and maintenance of Soviet-made military equipment. The main goal is to prevent these elements from reaching Ukraine. At the same time, Ukraine urgently needs to buy up all available equipment and components to ensure military needs and maintain combat capability. Andriy Minakov, Deputy General Director of the Incompass Aviation Company, told UNN in an exclusive interview how this Russian "reverse hunt" is taking place, which countries are becoming platforms for deals, and why this is important for Ukraine.
Details
Experts note that all import and export of military equipment in the Russian Federation is controlled by the state. They have a federal service for military-technical cooperation, which is directly subordinate to the president, and all special services are involved in controlling the movement of weapons and components. At the same time, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and during the years of the war, Russia launched a systematic campaign to buy up military equipment and weapons components abroad, which it once exported itself.
In December 2022, Uralvagonzavod bought components for tanks from Myanmar, which it had previously supplied itself. These were sights and cameras for installation on tanks worth $24 million. They were exported to Myanmar in 2019 and bought back in 2022. In addition, in 2022, the Russian Design Bureau of Machine Building bought six sets of night vision sights for surface-to-air missiles from the Indian Ministry of Defense for $150,000, which had previously been exported to India in 2013.
The main goal of these actions is not so much to fill the shortage as to prevent these pieces of equipment or spare parts from reaching Ukraine. The fact is that a large part of Ukraine's military arsenal was formed in Soviet times - this applies to both armored vehicles and aviation. Its maintenance and repair require the availability of compatible spare parts, which are becoming less and less every year. Despite the fact that Ukraine has been working on import substitution since 2014, due to the scale of the Soviet heritage in service, there is no full-fledged alternative to these components yet.
"We have many enterprises, and their technological processes were created and adjusted to service military and aviation equipment of Soviet production. It is very difficult to quickly reconfigure this production to other - European models. Large investments are needed. And in order to repair the existing equipment, spare parts are needed, and many of them were stored in warehouses in Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, etc.", the expert explains.
That is, decades ago, Russia, for certain economic or other reasons, sold components for Soviet-made military equipment to other countries, and after the start of the war with Ukraine, it abruptly began looking for ways and opportunities to return or buy them back and prevent the relevant stocks from being used to service the Ukrainian fleet, which they are suitable for. Therefore, any attempt by Ukraine to gain access to spare parts from third countries - including former members of the Warsaw Pact or states in Asia and Africa - is met with opposition from Russia. A similar practice takes place with military equipment in assembled form.
"They supplied a lot of aviation equipment (Mi-17, Mi-25, Mi-29) to Peru, which they are now buying back or negotiating to buy back. Negotiations are underway with Angola on the return of T-72 tanks. They are also in talks with Zimbabwe, where they supplied 18 helicopters in 2023, to buy them back. A similar practice is being followed with Sudan and other countries to which supplies were previously made: they are now actively looking for what else can be returned," says the Deputy General Director of Incompass.
According to Minakov, Ukraine is already running out of opportunities to obtain components and spare parts in Europe, and these processes are complicated by regulatory aspects. At the same time, Russia uses all possible methods and schemes, buys up components under the guise of repair or replacement, actually carrying out covert imports. In particular, South Africa, Angola, Algeria and Peru have agreements that allow Russia to return old weapons, sometimes in exchange for new equipment. The same schemes are used for ammunition stored in India, Pakistan, China and Korea.
Thus, in the current environment, the expert believes, Ukraine needs to adapt to the realities: if there is an opportunity to obtain available components, weapons or ammunition, it should be used. A ban on the import of Soviet or Russian parts manufactured before 2022 only plays into the hands of Russia, which has no such restrictions and is actively buying up strategic reserves. If the situation is not reviewed, it could lead to a collapse in the repair of military equipment and weaken Ukraine's defense capabilities.
Let us remind you
Experts note that a significant part of the Ukrainian aircraft fleet and military equipment is still based on Soviet models. In this regard, the key tasks of the industry include import substitution, the development of its own production and a gradual transition to Western technologies. At the same time, the modernization of weapons and the integration of Western control, communication and protection systems are ongoing, which is critical for the safety of crews and the effectiveness of combat operations. Among the main challenges, experts call the dragging out of legislative changes, the lack of systemic tax incentives and the imperfection of import substitution mechanisms. The industry lacks not only funding, but also flexible legal instruments that would allow it to respond quickly to challenges. It is critical to create a comprehensive legislative infrastructure that will ensure stable support and sustainable development of Ukrainian aviation.
