Italian arms manufacturer supplied shotguns to Russian army during war - Media
Photo: Russian military personnel (Getty Images)
President of the arms holding company Beretta Pietro Gussalli Beretta ran the Russian company Russkiy Oryol (Russian Eagle) in 2022. Their weapons are now actively used by Russian military forces, The Insider reports.
According to journalists, the European holding still owns 57% of the shares in the Russian company.
In 2022 alone, Russkiy Oryol imported 3,919 firearms into Russia. These include products from Benelli, Fabbrica D’Armi Pietro Beretta, and Stoeger, all of which are part of Beretta Holding.
Despite European sanctions, the Russian partners of the holding continue to receive weapons — the last known shipment was processed in April 2026. It was received by LLC Kolchuga.
What the Russian army uses
Most of the imported weapons are hunting shotguns, but Russia has also managed to obtain hundreds of modern sniper rifles and military-grade shotguns.
In particular, Russian soldiers and FSO personnel (Federal Protective Service of the Russian Federation) use Benelli shotguns (M2 and M4 models) to shoot down FPV drones. In addition, Russian snipers actively use Tikka and Sako rifles produced by the Finnish Beretta factory.
Photo: receipt of weapons by the Russian company Beretta (theins.ru)
Photo: receipt of weapons by the Russian company Beretta (theins.ru)
The Insider reports that from March 2022 to February 2024, importers in the aggressor country received at least 15,337 units of Western-made weapons. Nearly 40% of them (6,064 units) were produced at facilities belonging to Beretta Holding.
Sanctions and arrest of intermediaries
In February 2024, journalists already reported that Beretta owns a Russian weapons importer. After that, the US added Russkiy Oryol to its sanctions list and arrested several intermediaries.
However, no official investigation into smuggling has been launched in either Italy or the EU. When the president of Beretta was questioned about weapons supplies to Russia during parliamentary hearings in February 2026, the session was simply closed.
Representatives of the arms holding stated in response to journalists’ inquiries that all companies in the group have stopped commercial activity on the Russian market, and that Russkiy Oryol was excluded from the consolidated reporting.
US intelligence warned that the aggressor country may deploy nuclear weapons into orbit.
According to intelligence data, Russia is also working on a satellite capable of carrying nuclear weapons intended to target other satellites.
