Fast-paced streets, neon lights, the bustle of Asia’s financial powerhouse, and a forest of skyscrapers. Hidden among Hong Kong’s soaring towers are buildings that tens of thousands walk past every day never guessing that behind their glass facades lies a quiet lifeline of Russia’s defense industry. Inside the office of MAG Smart Solution Limited on Lockhart Road, deals are struck and plans are drawn up to move sanctioned European electronics that eventually make their way into Russian defense enterprises. This covert pipeline was set up by Yevgeniy Pluzhnik, a former university vice-rector turned businessman, director of MAG Smart Solution Limited, and co-founder of the robotics firm Promobot, who has long tried to secure his foothold in the military sector. While his robots are displayed at “Army of Russia” expos and his family enjoys a comfortable life in the UAE, Pluzhnik keeps a low but steady profile, maintaining a discreet supply bridge between Hong Kong and Moscow and feeding Russia’s defense machine with technology it can’t afford to lose.

Key Findings:

• MAG Smart Solution Limited, a Hong Kong–based company registered by Yevgeniy Pluzhnik in 2023, has supplied more than $564,000 worth of sanctioned products to the Russian firm Testing Technologies LLC since 2022. Cooperation between Hong Kong and Moscow continues, as the latest contract is dated February 2025 according to export data.
• The equipment Pluzhnik funnels into Russia, including electronic signal generators and oscilloscopes is critical for testing military systems such as radar, navigation, and electronic warfare (EW) technologies.
• Testing Technologies is a supplier to the Russian military-industrial complex. Notably, the company is involved in multi-million-dollar legal disputes over contract execution with the Nizhny Novgorod Research and Production Association named after Frunze, which is a major supplier to the Russian Ministry of Defense and is sanctioned by the United States.
• Pluzhnik previously served as first vice-rector of the Moscow Technological Institute “VTU” (circa 2009-2016). He is also a co-founder of the robotics company Promobot, which has been trying to break into the military sector, and the founder of a Moscow business school.
• In 2018, he founded a primary school affiliated with the PhysTech Lyceum (OANO “PhysTech-Nachalo”) in the Moscow region, which promotes pro-Russian propaganda, collects aid for residents of Donetsk, and organizes lectures featuring participants in the so-called “Special Military Operation” (SMO).
• Members of his family, including his daughters, are founders of Russian IT companies, one of which (Neurobotics LLC) supplies products to the temporarily occupied Crimea.

From Hong Kong to Moscow

Right after its creation, MAG Smart Solution Limited began channeling European products into Russia as an apparent attempt to dodge sanctions imposed after the full-scale invasion. The company ships electronics exclusively to a single customer: the Russian firm Testing Technologies, established in November 2022. Since 2024, over $564,000 worth of sanctioned German and Czech-made products have been shipped from Hong Kong to Russia. Among these items are electronic signal generators and oscilloscopes with recording devices. These tools are used in communications, aviation, defense development, scientific laboratories, and enterprises within Russia’s defense sector.

When the full-scale war began, Russia concealed all government procurement records, making any contracts involving Testing Technologies inaccessible to the public. Even so, the Russian arbitration court database reveals multiple legal disputes over multimillion-dollar supply contracts with the Nizhny Novgorod Research and Production Association named after Frunze, a plant directly tied to the military-industrial complex of the occupying state.

“Testing Technologies” has twice taken the Russian JSC “Nizhny Novgorod Research and Production Association named after Frunze” to court, arguing that the plant failed to pay for equipment delivered as early as the beginning of 2024. In the first lawsuit, the unpaid amount plus penalties totaled 17.7 million rubles. The trial court in May 2025 fully ruled in favor of “Testing Technologies,” and the appeals court upheld the decision in September, confirming that the goods had been delivered to the plant but were only partially paid for.

Vice-rector, businessman, robotics developer: what is known about Pluzhnik

Promobot has increasingly aligned itself with the Russian defense sector, regularly showcasing its robots at “Army of Russia” forums and Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade events. Their products have even been reviewed by high-ranking officials, including Valentina Matviyenko, Chair of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation.

Yevgeniy Pluzhnik was so determined to build a shadow business bridge between Hong Kong and Moscow that he drew his family into the venture as well. His daughters, Veronika and Angelina, who recently graduated from university, became founders of Russian IT companies in 2023:

• Veronika founded Bitronix LLC, a Moscow-based company developing computer software.
• Angelina established Neurobotics LLC, which engages in scientific research and development in natural and technical sciences.

Neurobotics supplies products to Russian-occupied Crimea. And while official Russian business registries list his daughters as the owners, it is highly unlikely they run the companies independently. On his social media, Pluzhnik openly states that he is a co-founder of these businesses.

Pluzhnik makes no secret of living in the UAE. He states this openly on social media and has regularly posted photos from there since 2022. Despite residing abroad, he and his family continue to operate businesses both in Russia and overseas, all while promoting technologies and narratives that ultimately reinforce the war effort, whether through the student community or the school system.