Cummins Confidential Special : Profiting Off Russia’s War Machine – Pull-Out PR Won’t Wash the Blood Away

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Let’s face it – Cummins, that all-American engine giant from the heart of Indiana, has its fingerprints all over Russia’s brutal war machine. We’re talking diesel power humming in armoured vehicles that roll over Ukrainian towns, leaving trails of devastation. And what does Cummins do? They cash in for decades, shipping engines to a regime that’s always been one sanction away from rogue status, without a single fuck given about where those beasts end up. Only when the geopolitical heat cranks up in 2022 do they announce a “suspension” – a slick PR move after the fleets are built, the contracts fulfilled, and the damage irreversible. It’s bullshit. Their tech is embedded in the war effort, and pulling out now? That’s just window dressing. The engines keep running, the profits have rolled in, and guess what? This cycle will repeat wherever Cummins chases the next hostile market for a buck.

The Greedy Legacy: Engines for Anyone with Cash

Cummins didn’t just dip a toe into Russia – they dove in headfirst, engines roaring. Starting in the 1970s with supplies for Soviet mining trucks, they ramped up to full partnerships by 2006, teaming with state-owned KAMAZ to crank out licensed 4.5-litre and 6.7-litre diesels. Supposedly for civilian rigs, but come on – KAMAZ’s 6×6 and 8×8 trucks are the lifelines of Russian military logistics, hauling death across borders. And the GAZ Tigr? That light armoured predator, Russia’s Humvee knockoff, was literally designed around Cummins’ 5.9-litre 6BT turbo diesel – up to 215 horsepower of American muscle, tough enough for minefields and ambushes.

While the roubles flowed, Cummins turned a blind eye. Visuals from the front lines show Tigrs and KAMAZ convoys in Ukraine, many still powered by that reliable Cummins growl. Defence reports confirm it: Where Russian engines stutter on reliability, Cummins fills the void for lighter, agile kit. Heavier tanks like the T-72 might chug on domestic power, but the workhorses? Cummins-equipped, thanks to years of unchecked sales. They earned billions globally, touting innovation, while equipping a potential aggressor. No moral pause, no red flags – just profit. Until the shit hit the fan.

The PR Pullout: Too Little, Too Late, After the Fleets Are Primed

Fast-forward to March 2022: Russia invades, the world recoils, and Cummins suddenly discovers ethics. They suspend operations indefinitely, halting direct shipments and vowing no military use. Sounds heroic, right? Bollocks. By then, the fleets were stocked – thousands of vehicles humming with Cummins tech, ready to unleash hell. Pre-invasion deals had armed Russia for years of attrition. Captured Tigrs in Ukraine, over 37 by late 2024, often reveal that familiar diesel heart.

It’s all optics. Their 2022 announcement was a boardroom scramble as attacks intensified, not some principled stand. And the fallout? A $111 million hit that year, plus $28 million in 2024 for impairing the KAMAZ joint venture – pocket change for a company raking in billions. Russia nationalised the JV, keeping production alive for sanctioned KAMAZ, which still cranks out military haulers. Even post-suspension, $170 million in Cummins products flowed to Russia in 2023 alone, propping up transport that indirectly feeds the war beast. Components reportedly slip through via neutral hubs like Kazakhstan, evading sanctions while Cummins claims compliance.

This isn’t withdrawal; it’s denial. The engines are part of the machine now, indifferent to the carnage. Cummins powers global militaries – U.S. Bradleys, British Scimitars – but when it arms the wrong side, the blood doesn’t rinse off with a press release. They only “cared” when it became geopolitically toxic, after the fleets were built and the invasions launched. Outrageous, isn’t it? Profit blinded them, and now Ukrainians pay in graves.

The Endless Cycle: Hostile Nations Next, Rinse and Repeat

Here’s the kicker: This will happen again. Cummins chases emerging markets with the zeal of a shark smelling blood – joint ventures, licensing deals, wherever the growth is. Sell to “partners” until they turn tyrant, then feign shock and “withdraw” when the world watches. Their 10-K filings scream it: Risks from geopolitics, sanctions, and unstable regions are just footnotes in the profit chase.

Indirect ties linger too – like powering CLAAS harvesters still operating in Russia’s war economy, or deals with Komatsu, whose Russian ops mine resources funding the fight. No direct front-line blame there, but it underscores the web. Cummins complies on paper, but reality? Components feed nationalised plants, evading bans. Their thirst for expansion equips aggressors, and when shit hits the fan, they bail with clean hands – or so they claim. But the war machine rolls on, Cummins-branded.

It’s infuriating. By prioritising profits over principles, Cummins has earned its spot in the war machine hall of shame. Engines don’t choose sides, but companies do. And Cummins chooses cash every time, until the very moment the shit hits the fan.

Bloodstained Balance Sheets: Accountability Now

Enough of this corporate sleight-of-hand. Cummins’ engines enable atrocities – Tigrs storming villages, KAMAZ delivering doom – and no amount of PR erases that. Blood on their hands? Damn right, through negligence and greed. Not deliberate, but complicit in a system where profit arms butchers. Shareholders thrive; civilians die.

Time for a reckoning: Sever every thread, audit partners, block components to sanctioned entities. Governments must crush loopholes, enforce sanctions with teeth. Until then, Cummins remains part of the problem – a profit-hungry enabler in a world of endless wars. Humanity deserves better than engines of death dressed in green credentials.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

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