Sanctions have not stopped Russia from importing dozens of Austrian-made Steyr Mannlicher rifles and pistols, which are then used in Ukraine

13 comments

1. Oh Austria!

   You trade with Russia but you are OK with Romanians fucked on the border due to *your* decisions.

2. Disgusting to say the least.

3. Austria isnt exactly known for making the best geopolitical decisions

4. Because nobody gives a shit. Money is king.

5. The problem is far bigger it seems. Multiple weapon manifacturers from USA, Czech Republic, Germany and Austria have their products imported to Russia.

   [German rifles for Russia (correctiv.org)](https://correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2023/11/10/german-rifles-for-russia/)

6. Any law enforcement agency or military in a third country can buy these rifles and then resell them to russia, or “lose them”. It seems near impossible to prevent this. Best that can be done is that when such weapons are seized by Ukrainians the serial number can identify the original buyer who then could be placed on a black list

7. but Austria is a satellite state of Russia, so no suprise

8. Dozens? Did I read that wrong? What is that supposed to do in a war zone?

9. I suggest we sell European weapons to Russia, except they backfire. Literally.

   I’m sure someone can make a rifle look very convincing with a secret barrel pointing to the shooter. Ship it, send profits to Ukraine.

10. Dozens is not a quantity you could reasonably fight a war with, nor is it a quantity that you could reasonably prevent transport to <anywhere> of.

    Think about it – you buy with a random shell company, ship to Cyprus, or somewhere in Africa, SAmerica, Central America, Asia, etc… then reship to Russia.

    And, Russia has plenty of small arms anyhow – they’re one of the worlds leading manufacturers of small arms, after all.

    I dislike Austrian policies, but pretending this matters is just foolish. If you catch the guys doing it, fine. If not, there are bigger fish to fry. Billions of dollars worth of natural gas and/or other fuels is an issue. “Dozens” of rifles just isn’t.

11. German speaking Russia strikes again!

12. There are dozens of them! *Dozens!*

13. > During the two-plus years of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has imported at least 169 Austrian-made Steyr Mannlicher rifles and pistols.

    Yeah … before you get our your pitchforks, read the article.