Iran, Vietnam, North Korea, and China remain key partners of the Russian Federation in circumventing international sanctions and supporting military aggression against Ukraine. Recent months have shown that these countries actively assist Russia in supplying technologies, military aid, and organizing financial schemes that allow them to avoid international oversight.
This is reported by Finway
Iranian Turbines for Russian Energy
The Iranian company MAPNA has made its first delivery of an advanced gas turbine MGT-70 to Russia. This occurred under an agreement made back in 2022, which involves the export of 40 such units. For Russian power plants, this equipment is strategically important, as the Russians are replacing turbines from the German company Siemens, whose supplies were halted due to the full-scale war. Meanwhile, Russia is trying to establish its own production of similar units. Gas turbine installations are used for electricity and thermal energy production, which enhances the efficiency of Russia’s energy sector.
Alternative Payment Schemes and Military Assistance
Vietnam and Russia have implemented special “backdoor” schemes for payments for weapons, allowing both countries to avoid sanctions and conduct financial transactions without engaging in open international payments. This practice complicates the tracking of financial flows and monitoring of military supplies.
On the other hand, North Korea has already provided military support to Russia estimated at around $10 billion. Meanwhile, compensation from Russia has remained significantly lower—no more than $1.2 billion, which mainly includes food and fuel aid, as well as a limited number of air defense systems, GPS jammers, and possibly fighter jets. This disparity indicates an unequal relationship between the countries, despite the increasing level of military cooperation. According to estimates from the Korean Institute for Defense Research, the volume of aid from North Korea could have reached $20 billion.
“North Korea has provided military support to Russia amounting to about $10 billion. However, in return, it received relatively small compensation—at most $1.2 billion, which mainly includes food and fuel aid, as well as a ‘small number of air defense systems, GPS jammers, and possibly fighter jets.’ This indicates an ‘unequal partnership’ between the countries, although their military cooperation has intensified.”
China: Secret Supplies and Transport Support
In recent months, China has organized secret cargo flights of the vessel Heng Yang 9 to the Russian-occupied Sevastopol in Crimea three times. Ukraine has already protested to Beijing and warned of the possibility of sanctions. The vessel’s appearance coincided with the launch of a new railway line in Crimea, which since April has allowed containers to be transported from Russia to Crimean ports. According to Ukrainian officials, this facilitates the export of goods from the occupied territories of Donetsk and Kherson regions.
Moreover, in August, over 43% of maritime shipments of Russian oil, or 9.7 million tons out of a total of 22.2 million tons, were carried out by 83 tankers under sanctions. This indicates the extensive use of the sanctioned fleet to support oil exports, despite international restrictions.