Investigations

A leaked protocol from a Russian government meeting offers a rare glimpse inside the Kremlin’s military-industrial planning—its ambitious plans to produce dozens of Mi-8 helicopters. It nearly doubles previous estimates of Russia’s Mi-8 production capacity and output. What threat do these aircraft pose, and could they affect the course of the war?

Putin has declared Russia’s nuclear-capable Sarmat missile ready for deployment at least seven times, repeatedly using the weapon to threaten the West. But who builds it? Newly obtained documents reveal a sprawling network of missile, space, chemical, and nuclear enterprises involved in its production.

The fight over Russia’s war financing is increasingly being waged at sea, and Europe can no longer afford to view Russia’s shadow fleet as a regulatory problem. Is it prepared to disrupt that system rather than just monitor it?

Russia still cannot build modern weapons without Western CNC technology. German Siemens and Japanese Fanuc systems continue powering machines inside Russian military factories despite sanctions meant to stop them.

Despite years of sanctions, components from Intel, AMD, Siemens, Honeywell, and other Western firms continue reaching Russia’s missiles, drones, and communications systems through Chinese distributors.

Russia is rapidly scaling up production of the rocket fuels that power its missiles and artillery, using imported chemicals and components sourced from companies across Europe, Asia, and Central Asia, according to internal documents.