After Finnish company Kemppi publicly announced in March 2022 that it was ceasing operations in Russia and donated €100,000 to support Ukraine, nearly $8 million worth of its welding equipment still ended up in the Russian market. Some of this equipment was supplied to the Russian military vehicle producer JSC Asteis, whose armoured vehicles are being used in the war against Ukraine. This is evidenced by documents obtained by the Trap Aggressor editorial team of the StateWatch analytical centre during an investigation carried out together with Estonian journalist Meinhard Pulk.

The Russian company JSC Asteis, based in Naberezhnye Chelny, has been receiving Finnish equipment through an intermediary TD SoiR – a firm with an annual profit of only $3,800. 

From 2022 to 2024, SoiR sold Asteis Kemppi equipment worth over 35 million rubles.

JSC Asteis specializes in the production of “Patrul” armoured vehicles and is a partner of the KAMAZ plant, which is affiliated with the state corporation Rostec. The company has personally presented its vehicles to Putin. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, at least 13 armoured vehicles produced by this enterprise have been destroyed.

Among the Kemppi products reaching Russia, a significant share falls under sanctioned HS codes, including electronic integrated circuits, static converters, and transistors. The shipments are carried out mainly through Turkey and Serbia.

Estonian journalist Meinhard Pulk submitted documents on Kemppi’s cooperation with the Russian military-industrial complex to Finland’s Customs Board. In response, officials spoke of “active countermeasures against sanctions,” but did not mention any specific actions regarding Kemppi, citing “commercial secrecy.” Kemppi itself stated that it would review the information in the documents we provided, adding that it had no prior knowledge of these deals.

The company Asteis is included in the sanctions lists of Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, and Switzerland.