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Aujourd’hui — 11 juillet 2025Flux principal
  • ✇Euromaidan Press
  • Spain’s shadow export keeps Russian artillery alive
    If not for a Spanish company, Russia could have run out of new artillery barrels. Barcelona-based Forward Technical Trade SL supplied at least one radial forging machine to Russia, initially built by the Austrian firm Gesellschaft für Fertigungstechnik und Maschinenbau (GFM), the Insider reports.  Since early 2024, Ukraine has destroyed over 19,000 Russian artillery systems, contributing to a total loss of nearly 30,000 systems over the entire war. The attacks have reduced Russia’s artillery
     
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✇Euromaidan Press

Spain’s shadow export keeps Russian artillery alive

Par :Olena Mukhina
11 juillet 2025 à 11:38

barrel

If not for a Spanish company, Russia could have run out of new artillery barrels. Barcelona-based Forward Technical Trade SL supplied at least one radial forging machine to Russia, initially built by the Austrian firm Gesellschaft für Fertigungstechnik und Maschinenbau (GFM), the Insider reports. 

Since early 2024, Ukraine has destroyed over 19,000 Russian artillery systems, contributing to a total loss of nearly 30,000 systems over the entire war. The attacks have reduced Russia’s artillery superiority from a 10:1 ratio to about 2:1. Meanwhile, Kyiv and Moscow are turning to drones for faster, more precise strikes, reshaping how the war is fought.

The equipment, valued at $1.3 million, weighs 110 tons and was manufactured in 1983. The transfer reportedly occurred via a Hong Kong-based intermediary, Scorpion’s Holding Group Limited.

GFM denies any direct business ties with either the Spanish supplier or the Hong Kong firm. However, the UK’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) confirms that GFM machines are crucial for barrel manufacturing in Russia — and that the Russian defense industry remains entirely dependent on them.

According to US-based expert Pavel Luzin, Russia cannot produce these forging machines domestically. Facing severe shortages, Russian forces have already begun “cannibalizing” old Soviet stockpiles, endangering frontline performance.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence reported that the West still had not sanctioned 70 Russian companies behind the production of missiles that struck Kyiv’s largest children’s cancer hospital. 

The Okhmatdyt strike occurred the same day Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 8-9 July 2024, calling for a peaceful resolution to the war. While the two leaders spoke of peace, Russian missiles rained down across Ukraine, killing 47 people, including 33 in Kyiv.

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