A Moscow court says Russia doesn't have to give back the four turbines it bought from Siemens and shipped to Crimea, flouting EU sanctions

A Moscow arbitration court rejected a lawsuit by the German conglomerate Siemens demanding that its Russian partner, Technopromexport, return four turbines that were transferred to Crimea (instead of Krasnodar, as agreed), in violation of European Union sanctions barring EU firms from supplying the occupied peninsula with energy technology. The same court also rejected a countersuit by Technopromexport asking the court to invalidate the clauses in its contract with Siemens that ban the supply of turbines to Crimea.

Technopromexport argues that it performed significant upgrades on the turbines after purchasing them from Siemens, meaning the EU sanctions shouldn’t apply.

The four turbines are intended to sustain Crimea’s electricity independence from Mainland Russia, and two of the four are reportedly already in service. Their combined value is roughly 150 million euros ($177.5 million).

Siemens still has another chance to win back its turbines in Moscow’s courts. On January 10, a judge will rule on a second lawsuit filed against Technopromexport by Siemens’ joint venture with the Russian energy company Power Machines.