The effect of sanctions against Russia is getting weaker, with the restrictions failing to prevent the country from increasing its military production, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported on Sunday, citing representatives of the Ukrainian government and experts from Germany and the United Kingdom.
Since the end of 2022, Russia has been "substantially" increasing its budget spending on military production, the newspaper reported, citing the German Foreign Ministry. Moscow keeps importing sanctioned goods for the defense industry to the same extent it had before the start of its military operation in Ukraine, the newspaper said, adding that Russia was becoming more and more successful in circumventing a price cap imposed by the West on oil exports from the country.
There is a growing production of tanks, other armored vehicles, munitions, missiles, drones and some types of fighter jets, the newspaper said. At the same time, sanctions still have an impact on the development of Russia's defense industry, FAZ also reported, saying that it could develop even faster if the country had more digital production equipment.