Russian defense and security firms have obtained over 50,000 sensitive goods and components made in the U.K. and the E.U. through supply chains in India, a report states.
The sensitive goods and components that allegedly reached Russian hands through India are used in a wide array of defense and military equipment.
Strider Technologies, a London-based intelligence and risk management firm, published a report on Wednesday affirming the existence of a scheme used by Russia to circumvent existing sanctions and obtain access to dozens of thousands of sensitive goods used in drones, missiles, and aerospace systems.
The report affirms that, since 2022, Russian companies are exploiting Europe’s trade and manufacturing relationship with India — obtaining the security-related goods through Indian intermediaries. Most of the goods are allegedly of European origin.
According to Strider Technologies, the firm documented a 180 percent increase in U.K. sensitive goods exported from India to Russia between 2022 and 2025 when compared to 2019 and 2021. Similarly, a 455 percent increase in Swedish sensitive goods and a 131 percent increase in Swiss goods were documented in that same time period.
“There was also a sharp increase in these same types of goods from allied, non-European origin countries. From 2022 to 2025, there was a 529 percent increase from Australia, a 459 percent increase from the United States, a 253 percent increase from Japan, and a 180 percent increase from Canada,” the London-based firm stated.
The firm emphasized that sensitive components originating in the U.K. and the E.U. also risk being assembled in India into finished products for onward shipment to Russia — particularly now that both the United Kingdom and the European Union have signed free trade deals with India.
“As India deepens its role as a global manufacturing and import hub for Western-origin goods, the country enhances its attractiveness to Russia as an intermediary node in Moscow’s sanctions mitigation strategy,” Strider Technologies said. “For European firms operating in India, the risk lies in inadvertent exposure.”
In a press release, David Vigneault, chief intelligence officer at Strider Technologies and former Director of Canada’s Security Intelligence Service, stated that the E.U. and the U.K’s trade agreements with India, while deepening ties with “one of the world’s most significant growth markets,” also mean that governments and businesses need “a clear-eyed view of the competitive landscape alongside these opportunities.”
“Our research shows that Russia is leveraging many of these same manufacturing, research, and technology ecosystems to preserve access to critical capabilities and evade sanctions,” Vigneault said.
Nicholas Fenton, associate director for the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explained to Politico on Wednesday that Russia and India’s relationship dates back to India’s ties with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Since then, Fenton said, India remains one of Russia’s largest arms customers, while at the same time, Moscow relies on Indian supply chains to help sustain its war effort.
“This is something we’ve seen repeatedly since 2022, and we’re likely going to continue to see,” Fenton told Politico.
“When we look at captured Russian weapon systems, drones, what have you, and the Ukrainians go and open them up, there are all these Western components inside,” he further pointed out.
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