In 2023, boot manufacturers for the army of the terrorist country Russia purchased $4.1 million worth of products from the European Union (EU). Thus, Donobuv, Faraday, Iskozh, and Unicel purchased leather, glue, spare parts for shoe machines, and other goods.

This is stated in the Trap Aggressor investigation. Among the largest European suppliers:

• Italian company Conceria Cervinia Spa ($1.7 million);
• Belarusian-German company Belintertrans Germany Gmbh ($0.9 million);
• German company Neuhaus Gmbh ($0.7 million).

The EU did not impose a full-fledged embargo on trade with Russia, but only limited it to military or dual-use goods. Leather, rubber, soles, or other elements of clothing production were not included in this list. From the point of view of international trade, these goods are not used to conduct Russia's war of aggression.

Despite the fact that Donobuv and Faraday are on Ukraine's sanctions lists, Russian footwear manufacturers are not subject to EU sanctions.

Extending European sanctions to include these companies could make trade more difficult, though not impossible. After all, the blocked companies will be replaced by new ones.

"This story is yet another proof that any product that enters Russia from the European market can become a weapon of the Russians in their war against Ukraine and the Western world. And "targeted sanctions" are not able to completely stop the support of the Russian army with Western products. And there are two options: to continue the game of "catch and release" by applying sanctions to individual supply chains, or to ban EU countries from any trade with Russia," the investigation says.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, EU countries purchased more than €6 billion worth of liquefied natural gas from Russia in 2023. France and Spain are among the largest buyers.

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