EU exports worth $1 billion disappear in Russia during transit 

The Financial Times writes about it.

In 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the products were shipped from the Baltic states, coinciding with the peak of EU trade with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.

The European Union believes that these goods may have military or intelligence applications and are subject to export controls. They could potentially be imported into the Russian Federation from the EU under false transit declarations.

Western officials believe that such illicit trade enables the aggressor country to support its economy during a large-scale war against Ukraine and in the face of imposed sanctions. Public data obtained by the publication suggests that roughly half of the EU goods disappear en route to the designated countries.

Inconsistencies were discovered in the records, indicating that Russia evaded broad restrictions by using middlemen, agents, or suppliers who falsified the destinations on EU customs declarations. Such tactics have allowed the Kremlin to access key European products, such as aircraft components, optical equipment, and gas turbines.

The publication also indicates that the actual amount of shadow imports to the Russian Federation is likely much higher, since the $1 billion figure only applies to a limited sample of goods that journalists compared to data on international trade flows. For instance, the "gap" in trade between the statistical data of the EU and Kazakhstan is estimated to be $2.9 billion.

• On May 10th, European Union countries discussed potential new sanctions in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, but no quick agreement is expected.