European and American companies, despite the existing sanctions, continue to export titanium raw materials to the Russian Federation. From February 2022 to November 2024, Russia received titanium ore and metal products worth over 275 million dollars from Europe and the USA. Over three years, the volume of titanium ore imports to Russia reached at least 59,000 tons.
This is reported by Бізнес • Медіа
Use of Titanium in the Russian Military Industry
The titanium raw materials purchased by Russia are actively used in the production of military equipment. In particular, these volumes allow for the manufacture of about 2,200 Su-35 fighter jets, in which titanium accounts for 40% of the weight, or over 17,500 Kalibr-type missiles, where titanium makes up 45% of the product’s weight.
Trade Volumes and Lack of Ban
Last year, Ukraine’s allied countries accounted for 17% of all titanium supplies to Russia, equivalent to 21.3 million dollars. At the same time, 72% of titanium raw material exports from Russia go to countries that officially condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine, amounting to about 87 million dollars.
There is no official ban on trading titanium with Russia. Major supplies do not violate sanctions as long as they do not go directly to a sanctioned enterprise. However, ultimately a significant portion of this product and raw material ends up at the Russian military-industrial complex enterprises through a chain of foreign and Russian companies.
Thus, despite the restrictive measures, a significant amount of titanium legally reaches the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex, contributing to the increase in the production of weapons and equipment for the war against Ukraine.