Tigipko’s factory supplied railway carriages to a company that collaborates with nuclear weapons developers in the Russian Federation — investigation
This is according to an investigation by ‘Slidstvo.Info’.
According to the journalists, Dniprovagonmash traded with the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant (NLMK), which is owned by the Russian businessman Vladimir Lisin. In 2014, 30 wagons were sent there, and in 2021, 28 wagons were sent to transport semi-finished products for the production of steel and cast iron.
The most recent deliveries took place in 2022 — they left Ukraine on 15 February and arrived in Russia on 24 and 28 February 2022.
For its part, NLMK supplied steel to enterprises within the Russian military-industrial complex, including manufacturers of combat modules and anti-aircraft missile systems. The company sold steel to the ‘Sever’ Production Association and the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre — both of which are involved in the production of nuclear weapons.
The press office of the TAS Group, of which Dniprovagonmash is a part, stated that supplies of products to NLMK were carried out “in compliance with all the requirements and restrictions of Ukrainian legislation in force at the time the relevant contractual obligations were established and fulfilled”.
Furthermore, journalists established that “Dniprovagonmash” sold some of its products in Russia through its subsidiary registered in Moscow — TD “Dniprovagonmash”. Indeed, it was only wound up on 7 February 2024.
The TAS Group stated that the decision to cease the subsidiary’s operations had been taken as early as 1 March 2022, but it had not been possible to liquidate the company earlier, as this required the approval of a Russian government commission.
However, as reported by ‘Slidstvo.Info’, data from the ‘Spark’ analytical platform indicates that the Russian ‘Dniprovagonmash’ continued to operate in both 2022 and 2023.
When asked by the Office of the President of Ukraine whether they were aware of Tihipko’s cooperation with the Russian company before offering him the position of adviser, they replied that “the appointment of Serhiy Tihipko as an external adviser to the Head of the Office of the President was carried out in accordance with current procedures and legal requirements”.
It should be noted that Serhiy Tihipko recently became one of the non-staff advisers to the Head of the Office of the President, Kyrylo Budanov.
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