WASHINGTON/KYIV/NEW DELHI, July 24 – An Indian company shipped $1.4 million worth of HMX, a high-grade explosive compound with military applications, to Russia in December 2023, according to Indian customs data reviewed by Reuters.
The shipments, delivered to Russian firms including Promsintez, a company linked to Russia’s military-industrial complex, raise new concerns about India’s ongoing trade with Moscow despite Western sanctions over the Ukraine war. HMX is widely used in missile warheads, rocket motors, and torpedoes, and has been deemed “critical” to Russia’s war effort by the U.S. government.
The U.S. has previously warned that companies or financial institutions involved in supplying such materials to Russia risk facing secondary sanctions.
The supplier, Ideal Detonators Private Limited, sent two HMX consignments in December, one worth $1 million to Promsintez and another valued at $405,000 to a firm named High Technology Initiation Systems. Both Russian buyers are based in Samara Oblast, near the Kazakhstan border.
Promsintez is also known to Ukraine’s security services. A senior Ukrainian official confirmed to Reuters that one of the company’s factories had been targeted by a Ukrainian drone strike in April.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs responded by saying that exports of dual-use items are subject to rigorous checks and are consistent with non-proliferation norms. It’s unclear whether these shipments violated any Indian laws.
The U.S. State Department reiterated its stance: “Any foreign company doing business with Russia’s military-industrial base is at risk of U.S. sanctions.” However, no action has been announced against the Indian firms involved.
India has kept close economic ties with Russia, especially in energy, despite growing strategic partnerships with the U.S. and Western allies.
This report is based on an exclusive investigation by Reuters.