In the spring of 2024, the Belarusian government placed the Manalit radio components plant in the city of Vitebsk on the “Republican Honor Board” in recognition of “outstanding economic results.” This was the second year in a row the plant had received the award.
This recognition for Manalit — a Russian-owned plant located in Belarus — came at a time when it had become a critical supplier of high-reliability electronic components used in missiles, radars, and aircraft deployed by Russia in its war against Ukraine.
During the first two years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, Manalit’s annual profits increased nearly six-fold, driven almost entirely by military exports to Russia.
Manalit’s story mirrors that of many heavy industry plants in Belarus. Founded in the Soviet era as a major producer of ceramic capacitors, it faced a severe crisis in the 1990s with collapsing demand. By 2009, it was close to total liquidation.
In 2011, salvation and transformation came from its former competitor, the Kolon plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. Russian investors acquired a controlling 51% stake, effectively making Manalit an offshore production base for the Russian defense industry.
Capacitors Designed for War
Manalit specializes in producing ultra-durable multilayer ceramic capacitors approved for use in military and space applications.
In November 2020, plant director Alexander Shumakher told the state news agency BelTA, “Ninety-seven percent of our production serves the Russian defense industry.”
In 2024, Vitebsk regional executive committee head Alexander Subotsin stated that the plant was “operating systematically” and had achieved results over the past two years “that could not fail to please.”
These capacitors — such as the K10-84 series — are not intended for consumer electronics. They are used in missile guidance systems, radar arrays, electronic warfare units, and nuclear control systems, where failure could mean the loss of a mission or weapon.
A Sanctions Loophole
Western sanctions imposed on Russia in 2014 after the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea cut off direct access to advanced Western electronics for military use.
Belarus, however, was not subject to these restrictions until 2022. For nearly eight years, Manalit exploited this gap, importing equipment and materials from Europe and the United States, then shipping the finished components to Russia to replace banned Western parts.
Even today, despite EU and US sanctions, Manalit can still buy production lines from Slovenia’s KEKO, equip them with Japanese Pro-face control panels (owned by France’s Schneider Electric), and continue sourcing precious metal powders from the US for capacitor manufacturing.
Evidence Among the Wreckage of War
According to a specialist from Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence Directorate (HUR), K10-84 capacitors produced by Manalit have been found in Russian Iskander ballistic missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles, air-launched Kh-101 cruise missiles, S-200 and S-300 air defense missiles, and Zoopark counter-battery radars.
“In the Kh-101 missile’s air pressure system, all capacitors and 80% of the electronic chips are made in Belarus. In 2024-model Iskander missile control units, almost every capacitor is from Manalit,” the specialist said.
Kremlin Connections
Manalit’s exports to Russia are routed through a single distributor: SpecElectronKomplekt (SpecEk), a key supplier to the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Customs data obtained by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Belarusian Investigative Center shows that between October 2022 and March 2025, Manalit shipped $43 million worth of goods to SpecEk — 96% of them ceramic capacitors.
SpecEk is listed in Russia’s closed defense contractors registry, which includes suppliers to major Russian defense firms such as:
Rostec: an umbrella for 350 defense companies producing 40% of Russian state military orders.
Almaz-Antey: maker of S-300, S-400, Buk, and Tor air defense systems.
KRET: electronic warfare systems.
UAC: Su, MiG, and Tupolev aircraft.
Tactical Missiles Corporation: precision missiles including Kh-101.
Uralvagonzavod: main battle tank production.
Russian Helicopters: Mi-8, Ka-52, and Mi-35 attack helicopters.
War Profits and Sanctions
Before the full-scale war in 2022, Manalit’s annual profits stood at about $1.4 million. By 2024, net profit had surged to $6.2 million — growth of more than 460% in five years.
The plant recorded record profits during the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.
In May 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Manalit for “directly facilitating Russian military aggression.” By contrast, the EU and US have imposed no sanctions, leaving its access to Western suppliers open.
That has made Manalit effectively a “sanctions gateway” — a Belarusian legal entity transferring Western technology to the Russian military.
Since coming under Russian control in 2011, the plant has been modernized with Western equipment, maintained open access to European and US raw materials, secured Russian military certification, and supplied capacitors found in missiles that struck multiple Ukrainian cities.
As Western governments continue to debate new sanctions, capacitors made in a quiet Belarusian factory keep traveling from Vitebsk assembly lines to Russian missile plants — and finally into Ukraine’s skies.
