Lukashenko Was Betrayed
- 27.07.2026, 13:56
The Russian defense industry is increasingly reluctant to pay Belarusian suppliers.
Being placed on a European or U.S. sanctions list for contracts with the Russian defense-industrial complex is one thing. That’s business. In business, taking risks comes with rewards. It’s a different story when sanctions are in place, but you don’t receive any money from the partner who put you on the list. That’s called being a loser. And this year, more and more companies have found themselves in this unpleasant situation, as discovered by Plan B., Belarusian companies working for Russia’s defense-industrial complex have increasingly found themselves in this unpleasant situation this year.
The First “Signs”
The systemic economic crisis in Russia, exacerbated by the collapse of the revenue-generating fuel industry, has also reached the local defense sector. In recent years, Belarusian companies have reaped the benefits of “intensifying” their relations with the Russian military-industrial complex. Specifically, BELPOL has identified 120 such companies. Although there are undoubtedly many more. And they are increasingly facing non-payment by their counterparties. They are even being forced to take “elite” enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex to court.
Journalists examined the Russian court database. It turns out that these are no longer isolated cases.
From a “Belarusian perspective,” the first signs of problems in this sector of the Russian economy emerged last year. However, the first disputes over non-payment were resolved amicably at the time. That is, they ended with compensation and, as a result, the withdrawal of lawsuits.
For example, “Peleng” withdrew its lawsuit against the Nizhny Novgorod-based developer of mortars and howitzers actively used in the war in Ukraine, the Central Research Institute “Burevestnik” (part of the “Uralvagonzavod” holding company within the state corporation “Rostec”). It also withdrew its claim against Taganrog-based “NPK BIS.” This Russian company, part of the “NKB VS” Group, develops electronics for specialized vehicles, including drones.
Claims filed late last year by the Vitebsk-based “Display” Design Bureau against “Revtrud,” a Tambov-based manufacturer of electronic warfare equipment— (part of the “Roselektronika” holding company within the “Rostec” state corporation).
However, the amounts involved in the claims were relatively small. Not critical. But the very fact of lawsuits against customers whose solvency had never been in doubt was bound to, at the very least, give Belarusian suppliers pause.
“The Rooks” Have Arrived
And it seems this is indeed the case. Since both the number of lawsuits and the amount of claims are growing rapidly—especially since mid-2026.
And as the publication has observed, the defendants are not minor companies, but rather the “elite” of the Russian defense-industrial complex.
“Peleng,” the leader in Belarusian military optics, is currently involved in several contracts for the Saratov Aggregate Plant.
The company owes it the equivalent of nearly a million dollars; it manufactures one of the world’s best anti-tank missile systems, the “Chrysanthemum-S.” SAZ is part of “High-Precision Systems,” one of the five main holding companies of the state corporation “Rostec.”
Another leader in the Belarusian defense industry, “Volatavto,” which specializes in manufacturing chassis for electronic warfare and missile systems, has a dispute with yet another giant of the Russian defense industry—“Motovilikha Plants.” This is Russia’s only full-cycle artillery plant. It produces cannons, howitzers, self-propelled artillery, and “Grad” rocket launchers—the very same ones being used to shell peaceful cities in Ukraine.
The legal proceedings in Voltaavto’s lawsuit against Motovilikhinsky Plant “to recover the debt and liquidated damages, with continued accrual of liquidated damages until the date of actual fulfillment of the monetary obligations” began in June of this year. The amount in dispute is also approximately $1 million. The first hearing will take place in early August.
Was it worth it?
The plaintiffs on the Belarusian side include not only state-owned companies. There are also private firms that were involved in military contracts that seemed to offer guaranteed payment.
One of the largest sellers of “Belaz” equipment in Russia, the Smolensk-based firm “Avtotekhinmash,” recently won a lawsuit against the “S.V. Ilyushin Aviation Complex.”
This is one of Russia’s leading enterprises in the field of aviation technology development, part of the “United Aircraft Corporation” holding company within the “Rostec” state corporation. In addition to transport aircraft, “Ilyushin” is the “designer” of the unique Il-22 airborne command posts. One of the 11 such aircraft in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces was shot down by the Ukrainians over the Sea of Azov in January 2024.
Court documents do not disclose what connects the “BelAZ” distributor to “Ilyushin.” But it appears that another set of problems is being added to the international sanctions that have tied the Russian and Belarusian defense industries together: non-payment.
Was it all worth it?