Latvian and Polish Companies Import Military Clothing for Russian Troops
An investigation has revealed that firms from Latvia, Poland, and Hong Kong have been importing tactical clothing to Russia, used by soldiers in the war in Ukraine.
Investigators from "The Insider" uncovered that several companies from Latvia, Poland, and Hong Kong are involved in supplying military clothing to the Russian armed forces. According to documents, the goods were imported by Latvian company SIA "MD Met", owned and managed by Jeļena Timohina. The transactions also involved Hong Kong-based "NStar Logistics Limited" and Polish firm "Tls Import-Export Sp. z o.o."
On the Russian side, the recipients were Kaliningrad-based companies "Laf" (ООО "Лаф") and "Partner Tekstil" (ООО "Партнер текстиль"). The imported items included 5.11 TACTICAL brand pants, T-shirts, shirts, and caps – clothing often seen on Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
Despite the onset of the full-scale war, "Tls Import-Export" managing director Ilya Kistov continued regular trips from the Polish city of Elbląg to Kaliningrad. The company did not respond to questions from investigators. Contact information for SIA "MD Met" and "NStar Logistics Limited" could not be found.
The 5.11 brand is widely available in Russia at specialized military equipment stores. In the 2010s, it was popular among militants in the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as among jihadists and Kadyrov supporters.
