Russia’s maker of T-series tanks is using hundreds of Western and foreign equipment pieces: Ukrainian intelligence

Ukraine’s intelligence branch said on Monday that it has newly identified hundreds of foreign-made equipment units used to make Russian tanks and armored vehicles.

In a statement on Telegram, the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) said it updated its list of foreign equipment in Russia’s military production to now document over 260 high-tech tools used by Uralvagonzavod — the country’s tank manufacturer.

The Russian firm makes the T-series main battle tanks that form the backbone of the Kremlin’s armor, from the Soviet-era T-72 to the newer fourth-generation T-14 Armata.

GUR said that the “vast majority” of this foreign equipment was purchased before 2022, during the 15 years or so when Russia undertook a mass modernization effort of its military.

That means many of these tools likely weren’t delivered to Russia in breach of recent international sanctions.

Still, their existence in Russian factories presents key areas of concern for both Kyiv and Moscow. If Russia is cut off from spare parts and software updates, its military production capacity could deteriorate significantly, as long as the Kremlin cannot replace them with equipment made domestically or by its allies.

GUR, in turn, said it hopes its equipment list will prompt foreign manufacturers to monitor spare parts’ exports and sales carefully.

“Manufacturing companies, directly and through authorized dealers, can limit the supply of spare parts, technical fluids, and software for machines that work for the Russian ‘military machine,'” GUR’s statement said.

Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, said in April that despite Moscow’s surge in defense spending, the country still needs to manufacture far more weapons.

“I know very well, and many here who are participating in our meeting today know it as well as I do: there are still not enough of these weapons. Not enough,” he said in televised comments.

US and European equipment making T-series tanks

According to GUR’s list, which is open to the public, Uralvagonzavod has been recorded using at least 148 types of equipment made by manufacturers in NATO member states, including the US, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

Another 42 types of equipment were listed from European and Asian states, such as Austria, China, Japan, and South Korea. GUR’s catalogue indicates that Uralvagonzavod operates multiple units of some equipment types, leading to a total of 260 units.

Examples include American-made vertical lathe machines that lift, hold, and rotate heavy-duty equipment, German computer-controlled machining centers, and Italian press brakes for bending metal into precise shapes.

Uralvagonzavod is known to be Russia’s sole major tank manufacturer, with its flagship plant in the country’s east serving as the Kremlin’s armored vehicle hub. During the war, main battle tank production at its factory complex has reportedly hovered between 20 and 30 new tanks a month.

GUR said that the firm launched a new production plant in 2024 for building tank engines, and that the site is “equipped with high-tech CNC machines from leading European manufacturers.”

“Such deliveries to the Russian Federation through third countries continue, although they have become more complicated, longer, and more expensive due to the sanctions introduced,” its statement read.

In total, GUR says it’s collected evidence of 1,396 foreign-made machines used in 169 factories across Russia that supply Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

For each tool, GUR publishes Russian government procurement documents, videos shot in factories, or leasing agreements that it says are evidence of such equipment being used in the Kremlin’s industrial base.

Ukraine regularly asks manufacturers to consider due diligence measures such as adding GPS trackers to their products and obliging customers to allow on-site inspections.

More recently, Kyiv said it’s been finding Western and Chinese parts in Russia’s long-range drones, which are the Kremlin’s domestically produced versions of the Iranian Shahed.

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