The Russian subsidiaries of the Evraz group of companies, owned by oligarch Roman Abramovich, have been cooperating for more than a decade with the National Guard and enterprises that supply the army, as well as produce tanks and explosives. It is reported by OCCRP (Center for Corruption and Organized Crime Research).

The authors analyzed contracts from the State Procurement website and found that from 2015 to 2018, Evraz ZSMK received contracts for the delivery of toluene from a state-owned plant that produces ammunition and explosive materials for industrial use. Toluene is used in the manufacture of explosives. According to OCCRP, these contracts are valued at over $2.8 million.

In addition, in 2018, Evraz NTMK provided $1.4 million worth of steel to Uralvagonzavod, which produces tanks and other transport equipment, in particular freight cars. In 2016 and 2017, the company also supplied vanadium slag to the plant, the contracts worth $227,000. Vanadium slag is used to make weapons and alloy steel.

Whether Abramovich’s companies continue to cooperate with the Russian army now, after February 2022, is difficult to say - in November 2021, the Russian authorities classified all purchases of the National Guard, the FSO, the FSB and the army. In addition, Uralvagonzavod and other concerns make purchases under 223-FZ. In December 2017, the law was amended , and from that moment on, customers are not required to send information about contractors to the registry. Uralvagonzavod and other government-related corporations actively use this right.

Most likely, the cooperation continues, notes OCCRP. Such a conclusion can be drawn from the report of American intelligence, as well as thanks to new legislation that effectively obliges such companies to cooperate with the military. In May, Uralvagonzavod, which produces tanks, suspended work due to a shortage of raw materials, according to intelligence reports. At the same time, steel is the cheapest raw material, and the Evraz group of companies of Abramovich is the largest steel producer in Russia.

In July, the State Duma approved a bill obliging companies such as Evraz's Russian subsidiaries to provide goods and services to the military. Legal entities "regardless of their organizational and legal form and form of ownership" will not be able to refuse agreements and contracts for the supply of goods and services for the army. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense will be able to change the terms of the contract after its conclusion.

At the same time, Evraz itself reported in March 2022 that the company's state contracts in Russia had nothing to do with weapons. The publication appeared immediately after the UK imposed sanctions against Abramovich, citing long-standing ties with Vladimir Putin. British authorities have expressed suspicions that Evraz is supplying Russian military factories with steel to make equipment and bullets. Evraz continues to categorically deny this.