An investigation by the independent outlet Buro Media has shed new light on the industrial supply chains underpinning Russia’s ongoing aerial campaign in Ukraine. Drawing on customs records and trade data, the report details how Belarusian companies have exported critical components to Russian defense manufacturers involved in producing glide bombs-munitions that have played a devastating role in attacks on Ukrainian cities.

The findings underscore Belarus’s function not merely as a political ally of Moscow, but as a logistical and industrial rear base supporting Russia’s war effort. With geographic proximity, inherited Soviet-era defense infrastructure, and an established military-industrial complex, Belarus appears to be providing specialized components that feed directly into Russia’s precision-guided bomb production chain.

The investigation centers on a deadly strike carried out on May 25, 2024, in Kharkiv. On that day, Russian aircraft dropped guided bombs on an Epicentr hardware hypermarket, killing 19 civilians and wounding dozens more. Ukrainian officials and open-source analysts linked the attack to the UMPB D-30SN glide bomb-a stand-off weapon engineered to be launched from a considerable distance.

Unlike conventional “dumb” bombs, glide bombs such as the UMPB D-30SN are equipped with guidance and control systems that allow them to travel tens of kilometers after release. This stand-off capability enables aircraft to remain outside the effective range of certain air-defense systems, thereby reducing risk to pilots while maintaining strike accuracy.

The UMPB D-30SN is believed to integrate several key subsystems: aerodynamic control surfaces, electric drive mechanisms, servo controllers for steering, and terminal guidance modules that correct the weapon’s trajectory during the final phase of flight. It is within these subsystems that Belarusian exports appear to have played a role.

According to the customs data examined by Buro........

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