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Saudi Arabia has acquired 39 Pantsir-S1M air defense systems from Russia in a deal worth €2.2 billion (over $2.3 billion), according to an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which cited leaked internal documents from Ruselectronics (Roselektronika), a subsidiary of Russia’s Rostec defense corporation.
The analysis, also supported by The Kyiv Independent, reveals that Russia continued exporting advanced weaponry to other nations, including Saudi Arabia, China, India, Algeria, and Egypt, even after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Experts consulted by OCCRP warn that purchasing Russian arms risks secondary U.S. sanctions for these countries.
Under the contract, Saudi Arabia agreed to pay €2.2 billion to state-run defense exporter Rosoboronexport — another Rostec subsidiary — for the delivery of 39 Pantsir-S1M air defense systems, 10 mobile command posts, as well as hundreds of missiles, additional transport vehicles, and communication systems.
Leaked documents include invoices and bank statements showing the contract was signed in April 2021, with the first payment of €326 million made in August 2021. According to the leaked records, part of the equipment was delivered in 2023 — over a year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.
The deal may have given Russia access to Saudi Arabia's U.S.-supplied Patriot air defense systems, according to OCCRP. Leaked emails indicate that in 2022, Russia requested and received approval to visit Saudi air defense sites. However, investigators were unable to confirm whether these visits actually took place.
In October 2024, Ukrainian media outlet Defense Express first reported the Saudi purchase of the Pantsir systems. Investigators have now obtained documentary evidence of the transaction, along with a 69-page proposal outlining potential future cooperation between Saudi Arabia and sanctioned Russian firms.
The proposal includes three potential contracts. One calls for the construction of maintenance facilities, the second outlines plans for a 15,000-square-meter center in Jeddah to train personnel on operating the Pantsir system, and the third proposes building an assembly plant in Saudi Arabia to produce Pantsir systems and ammunition.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 6, 2023.
The contract for the assembly plant was expected to be signed in the second half of 2022. However, OCCRP investigators could not confirm whether any of the proposed contracts were finalized, as the leaked documents only cover records through May 2022. Establishing production facilities inside Saudi Arabia was one of Jeddah’s conditions for signing the initial Pantsir contract.
. On Feb. 24, 2022, the Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister and the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State discussed a «strong international response to support Ukraine’s sovereignty» in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion. Shortly thereafter, Saudi Arabia voted in favor of a UN resolution calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country. In October 2022, the kingdom pledged $400 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. However, it has abstained from voting on more than half of the UN resolutions addressing Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense declined to respond to OCCRP’s questions about the proposed defense contracts in question, or about whether cooperation with Russia is ongoing.