BelPol links Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant to 15 Russian defense industry contracts
November 2, Pozirk. Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant (MZKT) has been involved in implementing 15 contracts with the Russian defense ministry, BelPol, an exiled Belarusian investigative group, reported on November 2.
The report on BelPol’s website is based on two scanned documents, an alleged leak of correspondence between the chief designers of MZKT and Tutaev Motor Plant in Russia’s Yaroslavl province.
One of them contains an alleged list of all the contracts, complete with their numbers and dates.
Judging by the letters, MZKT buys engines from Tutayev Motor Plant and supplies Russia with MZKT 7930 Astrolog special wheeled chassis, used, among other things, for mounting equipment of the Iskander short range ballistic missile system, and with the MZKT 7415 tractor units, designed for transporting heavy loads on semi-trailers, including armored vehicles.
BelPol notes that Tutayev Motor Plant confirmed its contribution to Russia’s war effort against Ukraine by stating in its 2024 annual report that it restores equipment used in the “special military operation” and supplies equipment components.
On October 5, BelPol published a batch of documents suggesting that Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant continues to cooperate with Russia’s defense industry companies.
In particular, BelPol said that MZKT had signed a contract with Moscow based Oboronitelnyye Sistemy on the supply of 20 MZKT 8021 021, five MZKT 8022 021 and five MZKT 80211 021 platforms.
At a forum in Vilnius this past May, BelPol’s leader Uładzimir Žyhar argued for tougher sanctions on the Alaksandar Łukašenka regime. Žyhar told Pozirk the EU is not doing enough to track and punish dozens of front companies used by sanctioned entities to circumvent sanctions.
BelPol specializes in gathering intelligence on Belarus’ role in supporting Russia’s war machine and companies and individuals that circumvent EU sanctions. He pointed out that BelPol has volumes of evidence against culprits.
Belarusian authorities support Russia in the full-scale war against Ukraine launched by Moscow in February 2022. Hundreds of Belarusian industrial companies are reportedly manufacturing and supplying goods for Russia’s war machine.
The European Union included Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant in its 17th package of sanctions on Russia adopted in May 2025.
According to the Official Journal of the EU, MZKT has supplied the Russian Armed Forces with military vehicles, supporting Russia’s defense capability.
In 2024 alone, the company reportedly exported 306 railcars worth of military equipment, mainly to Russian military-industrial enterprises.
The MZKT specializes in manufacturing heavy-duty wheeled vehicles of high cross-country ability, including transporter erector launcher vehicles for Russian missile systems. The company has been under separate EU sanctions since December 2020 for its alleged involvement in human rights violations in Belarus.
MZKT continues cooperating with Russia’s defense industry, BelPol says
October 5, Pozirk. Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant (MZKT) continues to cooperate with Russia’s defense industry companies, according to documents published on October 5 by BelPol, an exiled Belarusian investigative group. BelPol says that MZKT has signed a contract with Moscow‑based …
