Import substitution in Russia's economy has been a key policy since mid-2014, after the West as well as Kiev imposed several rounds of sanctions against Moscow over its alleged involvement in the Ukraine conflict. The restrictions targeted Russia's banking, energy and defense sectors.
"We fulfill the needs of the defense ministry by ourselves: the new engine VK-2500 is produced by the Klimov company’s plant in St. Petersburg. But for the civilian helicopters and the ones that we export – we are buying them [engines] from Ukraine, but we will gradually increase the production," Chemezov said.
Rostec’s CEO also commented on the supplies of components for the Russian Concern Kalashnikov firearms manufacturer.
"Most of the components are made here – instruments, stamps, which we partially used to buy abroad. Some of them we bought in Europe, some – in Ukraine. But now we are not buying any components from Ukraine anymore. Today we are producing about 70 percent by ourselves," Chemezov stated.
By 2018, Concern Kalashnikov is planning to exclusively use Russian components in production, the Rostec CEO added.
