The Czech company Leseft International, based in Ostrava, has rejected as “fake news” a report by Ukrainian daily Ukrainska Pravda that accuses it of mediating the supply of missile components to Russia.
The company’s executive director, Lev Seferyan, told the Czech News Agency that the allegations are “nonsense” and have the potential to damage the company’s business reputation.
The Ukrainska Pravda article alleges that “the business of supplying parts for Russian missiles is flourishing” in Ostrava, and that since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Leseft has facilitated orders worth over 464 million Czech crowns (€18.7 million) for a Russian customer, Ruspolimet.
According to the report, some of the goods were delivered to Russia despite existing European Union export restrictions, allegedly through intermediaries in Turkey.
Items cited in the report include hydraulic motors, valves, heat exchangers, and electrical switches — equipment that may have originated with German metallurgical firm SMS Group GmbH, which reportedly exited the Russian market but is accused of having continued to supply products via Leseft. Ruspolimet is a known supplier of components for Russia’s Kalibr and Iskander missile systems, frequently used in strikes against Ukraine. The company has been sanctioned by Ukraine due to its involvement in the Russian military supply chain.
As reported by Echo24, President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the issue earlier this month, stating that multiple companies — including eight Czech firms and 13 German ones — were still helping supply Russian weapons production. He did not name any of the companies. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský responded over the weekend, saying that Prague had no evidence of Czech machines being exported to Russia and that authorities were looking into the matter.
Seferyan categorically denied any wrongdoing or connection to arms manufacturing. “Leseft International is engaged in the sale of metallurgical semi-finished products and raw materials for steel production, as well as the supply of forged and cast parts for the power industry,” he said. “Our company sells these products, manufactured mainly by Czech suppliers, to many countries around the world, mostly to India, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Bangladesh.”
He added that Ukrainian clients have historically been among Leseft’s customers. “We do not supply Russia in any case, and none of our products can be used for the production of weapon systems or even missile components. That can be easily verified by an expert based on the dimensional and material characteristics of our goods,” he said.
The post Czech company denies Ukrainian media claims it helped supply components for Russian missiles appeared first on Remix News.
Remix News
