France and Germany evaded Crimea embargo to sell weapons to Kremlin, analysis says
France and Germany evaded an EU ban set in 2014 and sold weapons to the Kremlin, which are now used in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to an EU analysis exclusively reported by the Telegraph, Paris and Berlin sent €273m worth of equipment, going against an arms’ ban imposed following the 2014 war in Crimea.
German firms reportedly made €121m in the sale of “dual-use” equipment such as rifles and special protection vehicles while French arms companies made €152m from selling bombs, rockets and thermal imaging cameras.
A spokesperson for the economy ministry told the outlet the sale was made after Moscow guaranteed the weapons would not be used for military applications.
“If there were indications of any kind of military use, the export licenses were not granted,” they said.
After weeks of criticism, the German government announced on Wednesday it will phase out Russian oil supplies, halving imports by the summer and shutting down the tap by the end of this year, City PM reported.
Germany, who currently buys a quarter of its oil and half of its natural gas from Russia, was one of the countries who put up the biggest opposition against the EU putting a ban on buying gas from Russia.