Trap Aggressor, the investigative project of the Ukrainian think tank StateWatch, uncovered an uncomfortable link between the Italian chemical industry and the Russian military complex.

In a recent investigation, the news outlet documented how two family-owned companies in Northern Italy exported chemical raw materials worth at least USD 30 million to Russia in 2024 alone, indirectly contributing to the production of drones, missiles and tanks.
We are talking about Sir Industriale, based in Castelseprio, in the province of Varese, and Novaresine, active in Verona.

Industrial resins and their uses

These companies, little known to the general public, claim on paper to be socially responsible in their production.
But currently the customs documents analysed by Trap Aggressor tell a different story: their resins end up in the hands of Russian companies that directly supply giants of the military-industrial sector, including Uralvagonzavod, the historical manufacturer of tanks such as the T-34, the T-55 and the more modern T-90.

The most exposed of the two is Sir Industriale itself. In 2024 it sent $16.6 million worth of products to Russia, including $6 million worth of epoxy resins, a crucial substance for anti-rust coatings and composite materials for aircraft and missiles.

But its main customers also include the YarLI group, a paint manufacturer which in turn cooperates with Russian companies already affected by sanctions, such as KamAZ, which produces trucks for military use, the steel giant Severstal, Tatneft, which is one of Russia’s largest oil companies, the railway monopolist RZD, the radar developer JSC Izumrud, the LKM group, Uralprotect and OOO Prime Top.

From Verona, on the other hand, Novaresine has shipped $14.1 million worth of polyester and alkyd resins to Russia, among whose buyers we once again see YarLI, Robus Coating, and even the Russian subsidiary of the Dutch giant AkzoNobel, also specialising in paints, which despite not receiving state orders is still widely used as a supplier by Russian public bodies.

Business is business

Hence, Italy is confirmed as the leading European supplier of epoxy resins to Russia in 2024, with a 21% share of the market.
A supremacy that clashes with the public image of the two companies, both of which have ethical codes and even ‘green’ communication, but which maintain a prudent silence on their ties with Moscow after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The contradiction is even more painful since Sir Industriale, despite having a turnover of €131 million in 2023, received almost €2 million in public funding.

In an interview, CEO Marco Bencini had spoken of ‘growth in foreign markets’, citing the United States and the Middle East. No mention was made of Russia, where, however, its products continued to arrive.

Interviewed at a later date, the company admitted to having a long-standing relationship with YarLI, claiming that all contracts dated back to before 2022 and that the resins were intended for civil uses, such as roofing or can linings.
Unfortunately, data collected by Trap Aggressor shows that in recent years over 80% of the resins purchased by YarLI and 100% of those by the Russian company PrimeTop came from Italy.

Novaresine, for its part, closed 2023 with a turnover of EUR 81 million and a net profit of EUR 5.7 million. Controlled by the Bombana family through the holding company Tajan S.r.l., the company is headed by Alberto Bombana.
His official answer to Oleksandr Tartachny’s questions was lapidary: ‘Our polyester resins are not subject to export bans. No explanation of the relationship with Russian customers and no moral qualms about the uses of these resins.

A lifeline for the Kremlin

The picture that emerges from this affair is that of a Russia that, despite sanctions, remains heavily dependent on European imports for the anti-corrosive coatings essential to its military apparatus.
The Russian chemical industry, which collapsed in the 1990s, has never been rebuilt and would take decades to return to full production autonomy.
Replacing European suppliers with Asian (mainly Chinese) ones would also take time.

Moscow, per se, would therefore be vulnerable: it is a pity that two Italian family-owned firms, and perhaps others we do not yet know about, continue to supply it with essential components to keep its weapons running.