Serbian Grindex exported millions worth of metalworking equipment to Russia’s defence industry

Miksi tämä on tärkeää

The reported supply chain connects machinery from an unsanctioned Serbian company with sanctioned Russian military-industrial manufacturers producing missile systems, aircraft components, and navigation and stabilization systems for fighter aircraft. It also raises questions about the effectiveness of Western sanctions and Serbia’s export-control system, particularly because intelligence data indicate that supplies continued in 2026.

Mitä tapahtui

Grindex, a Serbian metalworking-equipment manufacturer founded in 2003 in Kikinda, exported equipment worth approximately €27.5 million to Russia after the full-scale invasion. Ukrainian intelligence reported that imports continued at least from March 2022 through March 2025, while other intelligence information indicated that deliveries also continued in 2026. Some equipment passed through Russian intermediaries not covered by Western sanctions and subsequently reached sanctioned defence manufacturers.

Two grinding machines supplied through AMG reached enterprises within Rostec: the I. Rumyantsev Machine-Building Production Association, which produces aircraft components, and Ufa Aggregate Production Association Gidravlika, which produces aviation parts and moving elements for military aircraft fuel and hydraulic systems. Another machine transferred in 2024 to the Machine-Building Design Bureau, which manufactures the Iskander-M missile system, was reported to have been rented to Perm Scientific and Production Instrument-Making Company, which produces navigation and stabilization systems for MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters. InformNapalm also reported in autumn 2025 that leaked documents showed that production of parts for the Su-57 and the prospective Poslanik bomber aircraft depended on Grindex grinding machines.

Grindex did not answer journalists’ questions about its exports to Russia, nor did the Russian companies that purchased its equipment. Serbia’s Ministry of Trade said it had not issued Grindex export permits for dual-use goods and lacked sufficient information to determine whether its machines were subject to export control. Serbia’s customs administration said it did not inspect Grindex products after clearance.

Näin ukrainalaiset lähteet kertovat asiasta

The Ukrainian coverage focuses on intelligence and investigative findings linking Grindex equipment to sanctioned Russian military-industrial enterprises. It highlights specific intermediaries, individual machines, downstream manufacturers, and the continuation of supplies in 2026, while also placing Grindex’s financial recovery and reliance on exports into the picture.

Missä uutisointi eroaa

Journalists could not independently verify whether Grindex continued cooperating with Finval Energo and Unimatik MSK after the two companies were sanctioned. The available accounts also describe AMG both as a Russian intermediary and as a purchaser of Grindex equipment.

Tausta

Grindex was founded in 2003 and is based in Kikinda in northern Serbia. Almost all of its revenue comes from foreign sales. The company recorded losses in 2021 and 2022, became profitable in 2023, and its profits have reportedly increased every year since. Serbia did not join Western sanctions against Russia but has repeatedly said it will not become a platform for sanctions evasion. In 2025 it adopted a law strengthening controls over exports and imports of dual-use goods. During the full-scale war, Western partners sanctioned at least 11 Serbian companies for assisting Russia’s military-industrial sector, while Serbian exports of dual-use goods to Russia rose by 220% in 2022 compared with the pre-war level.