The UK sanctions Dutch businessman Alexander Tattersall and Turkish company Redwing Metal over allegations that they supplied European-made industrial machinery to Russian metallurgical plants linked to the country’s missile and fighter jet manufacturers.
The sanctions, announced on October 8, 2026, follow an investigation by The Kyiv Independent that exposed how Redwing Metal allegedly channelled millions of dollars’ worth of European equipment to Russian industrial facilities despite restrictions on exports to Russia.
The British government included Tattersall and Redwing Metal in a package of 38 sanctions designations targeting Russian oil companies, shadow fleet tankers, cryptocurrency exchanges and suppliers of goods considered critical to Russia’s military operations.
According to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the measures target individuals and entities involved in supplying machine tools to Russia through third countries.
The government said such trade provides Moscow with “material benefits on the battlefield”, highlighting concerns that restricted industrial equipment continues to reach Russia’s defence supply chains through intermediaries.
UK Sanctions Follow Investigative Report
The UK sanctions came nearly four months after The Kyiv Independent published an investigation in collaboration with Italy’s IrpiMedia and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
The investigation examined Redwing Metal’s role in supplying European industrial machinery to two Russian metallurgical plants that provide materials to the country’s defence industry.
Roman Steblivskyi, director of policy and advocacy at the Economic Security Council of Ukraine, said the British designation could have consequences beyond the UK’s borders.
He told The Kyiv Independent that the sanctions would most likely close the supply chain through Redwing Metal that allegedly enabled European machinery to reach Russian facilities.
Although the European Union has not sanctioned Tattersall or Redwing Metal, Steblivskyi believes the British action could make it significantly more difficult for the company to conduct business with European partners.
“I do not think that EU companies or banks would approve transactions with Redwing Metal after the U.K. sanctions were imposed. It is too risky,” he said.
Steblivskyi added that Turkish companies dealing with Redwing Metal could also reconsider their relationships with the sanctioned business.
“This company is sanctioned, so it is already a red flag at least.”
Under British sanctions rules, designated individuals and companies can have assets under UK jurisdiction frozen and are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with British citizens and businesses.
Investigation Traced Millions of Dollars in Machinery
The Kyiv Independent investigation found that Redwing Metal shipped approximately $5 million worth of European-made industrial equipment to two Russian metallurgical plants in 2023 and 2024.
The shipments reportedly went to Aluminum Metallurg Rus (AMR) and Stupino Metallurgical Company (SMK), both controlled by Russian businessman Nikolay Timokhin.
The equipment included computer numerical control lathes, metal heat-treatment furnaces, hydraulic presses and other industrial machinery manufactured in Italy, Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic.
According to the investigation, the equipment fell under European export restrictions prohibiting its sale to Russia.
The shipments raise questions about how Russia continues to obtain advanced industrial equipment despite Western restrictions introduced following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The two Russian plants reportedly use the machinery to manufacture metal alloys for the country’s defence industry, including materials used by companies producing missiles and military aircraft.
Russian Plants Linked to Defence Manufacturers
Financial documents analysed by The Kyiv Independent showed that AMR and SMK had supplied more than 40 Russian defence manufacturers since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Their reported customers included producers of Kh-101 and Kh-59 missiles, missiles used in S-300 and S-400 air-defence systems, and fighter aircraft.
Many of the manufacturers are associated with Rostec, Russia’s state-owned defence conglomerate.
Timokhin is the son-in-law of Igor Zavyalov, who has served as a deputy head of Rostec since 2007, according to the investigation.
The findings illustrate how industrial companies that produce metals and related materials can form part of wider military supply chains, even when they are not themselves weapons manufacturers.
By targeting intermediaries involved in shipping restricted equipment, Western governments hope to make it more difficult for Russian defence suppliers to maintain production.
However, the investigation’s findings also suggest that restrictions can be undermined when goods are routed through companies operating in third countries.
Redwing Metal Also Shipped Equipment for Russian Navy Ships
The investigation identified another shipment involving approximately $1.3 million worth of European-made shipbuilding equipment.
Customs records reportedly showed that Redwing Metal shipped items including anchors, mooring winches and ventilation fans to SMS, a company within Timokhin’s business group.
The equipment was intended for installation on two Russian Navy ships under construction.
SMS was formerly known as SMK-Snab and was among the companies linked to Timokhin’s business interests.
The reported shipments suggest that the supply chain extended beyond machinery used in metallurgical production to equipment intended for Russian naval construction.
According to Turkish corporate records cited by the investigation, Tattersall owns 40 per cent of Redwing Metal, while the remaining stake belongs to Turkish lawyer Veysel Cengiz Soylemezoglu.
Tattersall, who resides in Switzerland, had business connections with Timokhin’s companies before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
For years, he operated a network of AMR trading companies in Switzerland, Germany and the United States that sold aluminium products manufactured by AMR on Western markets.
In 2019, he was photographed inside the Russian plant during celebrations marking its 65th anniversary.
Tattersall Denied Knowledge of Sanctions Evasion Schemes
When approached by The Kyiv Independent before publication of the investigation, Tattersall confirmed that he co-owned Redwing Metal but described his involvement as limited.
He characterised himself as a part-time consultant with restricted knowledge of the company’s operations.
Tattersall also said that, to his knowledge, Redwing Metal had never been involved in any “schemes” to ship sanctioned goods to Russia.
Soylemezoglu declined to comment on the shipments at the time, citing privacy obligations.
Timokhin, AMR and SMK did not respond to requests for comment, according to the investigation.
The UK sanctions now place Tattersall and Redwing Metal under British restrictions, but the designation should be distinguished from a criminal conviction.
The measures do not, by themselves, establish that a court has found Tattersall guilty of a criminal offence.
Nevertheless, the British government’s action represents a significant development in efforts to restrict the movement of industrial equipment that could support Russia’s military production.
EU Sanctions Leave Other Companies Untouched
The European Union had already taken action against one of the Russian plants identified in the investigation.
On July 23, 2026, the EU sanctioned AMR, one of the two metallurgical facilities that reportedly received European machinery through Redwing Metal.
However, SMK and SMS had not been added to the EU sanctions list at the time of the report.
Timokhin, whose business group includes the three companies, had also not been sanctioned by the EU. Neither Tattersall nor Redwing Metal appeared on the bloc’s sanctions list.
Sanctions experts interviewed for the investigation said routing restricted European equipment to Russia through Turkey could amount to circumvention of EU sanctions.
They also warned that EU nationals who knowingly helped bypass export restrictions through third-country intermediaries could face financial penalties or criminal charges under their respective national laws.
The legal consequences would depend on the circumstances and the applicable national legislation, including whether authorities could establish the necessary knowledge and involvement.
The gap between British and EU designations also highlights differences in how Western governments identify and sanction companies suspected of helping Russia obtain restricted goods.
Pressure Mounts on Russia’s Military Supply Chains
The UK’s action against Tattersall and Redwing Metal signals a wider effort to target the commercial networks that allegedly enable restricted goods to reach Russian defence manufacturers.
While sanctions against major Russian companies attract considerable attention, intermediaries operating in other countries can also play an important role in moving industrial equipment across borders.
The investigation’s findings indicate that European machinery allegedly travelled through a Turkish company before reaching Russian plants connected to manufacturers of missiles, air-defence weapons and fighter jets.
British officials hope the new restrictions will disrupt such transactions, while Ukrainian sanctions advocates believe the measures could discourage European banks, suppliers and Turkish business partners from continuing commercial relationships with Redwing Metal.
However, important parts of the reported network remain outside the EU sanctions regime, including SMK, SMS and Timokhin.
The effectiveness of the latest measures will therefore depend partly on whether other governments follow the UK’s lead and whether authorities can prevent similar supply chains from operating through alternative intermediaries.
For Ukraine and its Western partners, the case underscores the continuing challenge of enforcing export restrictions and limiting Russia’s access to equipment used in its military-industrial sector.