Serbian Grindex Supplied Machinery to Sanctioned Russian Defense Firms, Investigation Finds
A Serbian company, Grindex, exported about €27.5 million in metalworking equipment to Russia after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with some machinery reaching sanctioned Russian military-industrial companies. Ukrainian intelligence says imports continued into 2026, while Grindex remains outside U.S. and EU sanctions and Serbian authorities say they did not issue dual-use export permits or inspect the company’s shipments after customs clearance.
Key points
- Grindex exported about €27.5 million in metalworking equipment to Russia after the full-scale invasion began.
- Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence says imports continued from at least March 2022 through March 2025, with supplies reported in 2026.
- Grindex was added to a public Defense Intelligence list of companies supplying Russia’s military-industrial sector.
- Two Grindex grinding machines supplied through AMG reached companies within Russia’s state corporation Rostec.
- Grindex signed an agreement with AMG in December 2022 and completed delivery of a €778,000 machine after AMG entered the U.S. sanctions list.
- Finval Energo and Unimatik MSK have been under U.S. sanctions since 2024; journalists could not independently verify whether their Grindex cooperation continued after sanctions.
- Serbia’s trade ministry said it issued Grindex no dual-use export permits, while the customs administration did not inspect the company’s products after clearance.
- Serbia did not join Western sanctions on Russia, although it adopted stronger dual-use export and import controls in 2025.
Why it matters
The reported supply chain connects machinery from a company not sanctioned by the United States or the European Union with sanctioned Russian military-industrial enterprises. The equipment reportedly reached manufacturers of missile systems, aircraft components, and navigation and stabilization systems for Russian fighter aircraft. The findings therefore raise questions about the effectiveness of Western sanctions and Serbia’s export-control system, particularly because intelligence links Grindex supplies to 2026.
What happened
Ukrainian defense-intelligence data indicate that Russian imports of Grindex equipment continued from at least March 2022 through March 2025, while separate intelligence reporting says shipments continued in 2026. Grindex was added to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence public list of suppliers to Russia’s military-industrial sector.
Some machinery traveled through Russian intermediaries that were not themselves sanctioned. Two grinding machines supplied through AMG, also known as Alfa Machinery Group, reached the I. Rumyantsev Machine-Building Production Association and the Ufa Aggregate Production Association Gidraulika, both within Rostec. The latter makes aviation parts and moving components for military aircraft fuel and hydraulic systems.
In 2024, another company, Krona, transferred a Grindex grinding machine to the Machine-Building Design Bureau, a Rostec company that produces the Iskander-M missile system. In 2025, a machine purchased through Moscow-based nominee entrepreneur Denis Babichev was leased to Perm Instrument-Building Scientific Production Association, which produces navigation and stabilization systems for MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters. InformNapalm also reported in autumn 2025 that leaked documents from the Voronezh Engine-Building Design Bureau showed a direct dependence on Grindex grinding machines for parts used in the Su-57 and the prospective “Messenger” long-range bomber complex.
AMG entered the U.S. sanctions list in 2023 and the EU list at the end of 2024, but Grindex completed the actual delivery of a €778,000 machine through AMG after the U.S. listing. Grindex itself remains outside U.S. and EU sanctions. Serbian authorities said the trade ministry issued no dual-use export permits to Grindex and that customs officials did not inspect its products after clearance.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian coverage centers on intelligence and investigative findings connecting Grindex equipment to sanctioned Russian military-industrial enterprises. It highlights named intermediaries, individual machines, downstream manufacturers, deliveries reported in 2026, and the role of Grindex’s export-dependent financial recovery in illustrating the scale of the trade with Russia.
Where reporting differs
Journalists could not independently determine whether Grindex continued working with Finval Energo and Unimatik MSK after those companies were sanctioned in 2024. The available reporting also describes AMG both as a Russian intermediary and as a purchaser of Grindex equipment.
Background
Grindex was founded in 2003 and is based in Kikinda in northern Serbia. It reported losses in 2021 and 2022, became profitable in 2023, and has recorded rising annual profits since then, with almost all revenue coming from exports. Serbia did not join Western sanctions against Russia and has repeatedly said it will not serve as a platform for sanctions evasion, although it adopted a law in 2025 strengthening controls over dual-use exports and imports. Serbian exports of dual-use goods to Russia rose 220% in 2022 compared with the pre-war level, and Western partners sanctioned at least 11 Serbian companies for assisting Russia’s military-industrial sector during the full-scale war.