Russia's Using American Military Equipment in Ukraine War: Report

Russian soldiers are reportedly still getting their hands on Western-made military equipment despite the unprecedented sanctions that have been put in place since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Russia has been hit with broad-ranging economic sanctions and export controls by the United States, the European Union and other allies as Western countries continue to support Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion. But according to a Tuesday report by Important Stories, a Russian investigative news site, some Kremlin snipers are using Western-made rifle scopes along the frontlines in Ukraine.

Important Stories pointed to several YouTube videos featuring Russian troops in which Western equipment is shown in use. In one video cited by the outlet, a Russian sniper says that his firearm is equipped with a Leupold scope. Leupold & Stevens, Inc. is an American optics manufacturer based in Beaverton, Oregon.

In another video cited by Important Stories, Russian snipers can be seen using a scope that is marked with a Nightforce logo—an optics manufacturer based in Lavonia, Georgia. The report also cited videos that show Moscow troops using rifle scopes produced by Holosun, a California-based manufacturer, and Swarovski Optik, a company based in Austria.

Newsweek reached out to Leupold, Nightforce and Holosun via email for comment.

According to Important Stories, which cited Russian customs data, around 16 billion rubles worth of rifle scopes ($173 million) were imported into Russia between 2022 and 2023. The scopes were explicitly marked as "for installation on hunting weapons" and "not for military use."

The report cited two online hunting stores based in Russia that were behind imports of the rifle scopes. One company, Pointer, is based in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has imported nearly 3 billion rubles ($32 million) worth of scopes from Holosun since Ukraine was invaded in February 2022, according to Important Stories.

The Moscow-based hunting store Navigator has also imported nearly 400 million rubles ($4 million) worth of scopes since the war broke out, reported Important Stories, including over 2,000 rifle scopes from Holosun.

"The import of scopes and other goods 'for hunting,' of course, is carried out through parallel imports—manufacturers most likely do not know where their goods end up," Important Stories wrote.

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. International Trade Administration via email for comment.

President Joe Biden announced new sanctions intended to target Russia's military supply chain late last week, focusing on institutions facilitating the sale of semiconductors and other technology to Russia. Such equipment is used in drones and other weapons systems by Moscow, according to U.S. officials.

"We do see this as a significant step forward" in curbing Russia's ability to circumvent sanctions and export controls, an administration official told Newsweek.

"Russia is increasingly isolated in global economic trade," the official added.