Restarting titanium cooperation with Russia is on the list of postwar ideas US and Kremlin officials have talked over. That was the account the Financial Times gave on October 27, 2026, citing people familiar with the matter. It touches a supply line Boeing cut in 2022: the Russian titanium Boeing had used for roughly a third of its needs.
Where it stands: No titanium agreement had been reported by October 28. Boeing told the FT it would not comment. Someone familiar with the company’s position told the paper that Boeing had suspended its Russian joint venture and “has since diversified its supply chains for the metal.” On the US side, an official said any economic agreement depends on a comprehensive peace framework, adding: “nothing is finalised.” The FT got no reply from the Kremlin’s Dmitry Peskov; Kirill Dmitriev’s office declined comment. No outlet besides the FT had reported the titanium idea by October 28.
What exactly did the FT say about titanium?
Just one line. The paper described a suggestion of US companies “restarting co-operation with Russia on producing and supplying titanium, a crucial component in civilian aircraft.”
Boeing is the only US company the FT named in this context. The story gave no terms, no timeline and no sign that Boeing had sought the idea. Kyiv and European capitals were not in these discussions, the FT said. The oil, gas and other proposals are laid out in our overview of the FT report.
What was Boeing’s Russian titanium venture?
A jointly owned forging operation in the Urals, sitting on top of supply contracts that stretched back 25 years.
Forecast International traced the partnership to 1997, when Boeing gave VSMPO its first contract. A decade later the companies set up Ural Boeing Manufacturing, a 50-50 venture turning out rough forgings for the 787 Dreamliner. Its 8,900-square-meter plant stood in Verkhnyaya Salda, where VSMPO is based, and a second facility opened in 2018.
As late as November 2021, three months before the invasion, Boeing reaffirmed the tie. A memorandum signed at the Dubai Airshow said “VSMPO-AVISMA will remain the largest titanium supplier for current and future Boeing commercial airplanes,” according to AFP. Metal from VSMPO went into the 737, 767, 777, 777X and 787, per Defense Mirror.
| Year | Boeing and VSMPO-AVISMA |
|---|---|
| 1997 | First Boeing contract with VSMPO |
| 2007 | Ural Boeing Manufacturing joint venture formalized |
| 2018 | Second joint-venture plant opens |
| Nov 2021 | Dubai Airshow memorandum names VSMPO largest supplier |
| Mar 2022 | Boeing suspends Russian titanium purchases |
| Sep 2023 | US Commerce adds VSMPO to its Entity List |
| Oct 2026 | FT reports titanium cooperation discussed |
How much Russian titanium Boeing used, and why it stopped
Roughly one-third of Boeing’s titanium came from VSMPO before the war, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal reported. Boeing halted purchases eleven days after Russian troops crossed the border.
Its statement, issued on Monday, March 7, read: “We have suspended purchasing titanium from Russia. Our inventory and diversity of titanium sources provide sufficient supply for airplane production.” The company said it would “continue to take the right steps to ensure long-term continuity.”
The move was not improvised. Weeks earlier, Boeing had said it was unconcerned because it had been spreading its titanium sourcing since the 2014 Crimea sanctions, according to Reuters. VSMPO’s chief attacked the suspension, Reuters reported, pointing out that the contract had been renewed at Dubai only four months before.
The record has a hole. Reuters wrote in 2024 that Boeing had not disclosed how much Russian titanium might still sit inside its supply chain through other companies. Direct buying is what Boeing says it suspended; in the sources reviewed here, any indirect exposure has not been quantified publicly.
Russia, for its part, wants the venture revived. In October 2025 the trade site Industry Tap wrote that Russian officials hope to reopen the Sverdlovsk-region partnership, dormant since 2022, and that “Boeing has not reversed its 2022 stance publicly.” Our who-benefits breakdown sets this against the other reported proposals.
Is VSMPO-AVISMA under US sanctions?
It is under US export controls; the 2024 reporting found no Treasury or EU sanctions on the company itself. In September 2023 the Commerce Department put VSMPO on its Entity List, an export blacklist, labeling it a “military end user” for supplying Russia’s arms makers.
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In April 2024, The Washington Post reported that VSMPO “has not been placed under sanctions by the United States or the European Union”, even though Rostec, Russia’s state defense conglomerate, owns a quarter of it. This site could not verify the company’s 2026 standing on Treasury’s sanctions list from a primary source.
Brussels held back. When a proposal to list VSMPO came up in July 2022, France and other members blocked it over fear of Russian retaliation, The Wall Street Journal reported. Ottawa went the other way in February 2024, becoming the first Western government to ban VSMPO supplies, then exempted Airbus. Ukraine’s envoy in Canada said that letting Western firms keep using Russian titanium “is only feeding the Kremlin’s war machine.”
How did Airbus and other suppliers handle Russian titanium?
Europe’s planemaker took the opposite path from Boeing. Airbus, which drew about half its titanium from Russia, told Reuters in 2022 that it was buying both directly and via its main suppliers, “all in compliance with sanctions.” At its annual meeting that April, CEO Guillaume Faury argued against import curbs: “We don’t think sanctions on imports will be appropriate.”
Switching carried a price for some. RTX, the engine and aerospace parts group, booked a $175 million charge in 2024 tied to replacing Russian-owned titanium suppliers serving its Canadian plants, Reuters reported.
Where does US titanium come from now?
Abroad, chiefly Japan. Titanium sponge, the porous raw metal that mills melt into ingots, is no longer made in the US: the US Geological Survey says the country “did not produce titanium sponge metal in 2025” after its last plant shut in 2024.
Imports of sponge hit a record estimated 44,000 tons in 2025. Japan accounted for 73% through July, and Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia for 13% apiece, per USGS. On the agency’s estimates, Russia made 25,000 tons of sponge in 2025, while China made 260,000 tons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Boeing buying Russian titanium again?
There is no public sign of it. Boeing halted its Russian titanium purchases in March 2022. In 2024 Reuters pointed out that the company had never disclosed how much Russian metal might still reach it through suppliers.
Who owns VSMPO-AVISMA?
It is a Russian titanium producer, often called the largest in the world. The state defense group Rostec holds 25%. In 2022 AFP reported that VSMPO was chaired by Sergey Chemezov, a close Putin associate sanctioned by the US.
Did Boeing agree to a new titanium deal with Russia?
No. Titanium cooperation appears in the Financial Times report of October 27, 2026 only as an idea officials discussed. Boeing declined to comment to the paper, and a US official said nothing is finalised.
Does the US make its own titanium sponge?
Not since 2024. The US Geological Survey says no sponge was produced domestically in 2025, so the metal is imported, mostly from Japan, with Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia next.
Is Airbus still using Russian titanium?
Airbus said in 2022 it was still buying from Russia and other countries within the sanctions rules. When Canada sanctioned VSMPO-AVISMA in 2024, it gave Airbus a waiver.
Sources
- Washington discusses Russian deals for US oil majors in Ukraine peace talks — Financial Times, October 27, 2026
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Titanium and Titanium Dioxide — US Geological Survey, February 2026
- Boeing halts purchase of Russian titanium, while Airbus continues to use the supplies — Reuters (via 100knots), March 7, 2022
- Boeing halts titanium purchases from Russia — AFP (via Gulf Times), March 7, 2022
- Boeing suspends Russian titanium as Airbus keeps buying — Reuters (via Malay Mail), March 8, 2022
- WSJ: Boeing suspends buying titanium from Russia — Reuters (via Malay Mail), March 7, 2022
- Boeing Halts Russian Titanium Buys — Forecast International, March 7, 2022
- Russian Titanium Supplier, VSMPO-Avisma Added to U.S. Export Restrictions List — Defense Mirror, September 26, 2023
- WSJ: EU blocks sanctions on Russian titanium company fearing retaliation — Kyiv Independent (citing The Wall Street Journal), July 22, 2022
- Reuters: Canada grants Airbus waiver against sanctions on Russian titanium — Kyiv Independent (citing The Washington Post and Reuters), April 24, 2024
- Airbus wins reprieve from Canadian sanctions on Russian titanium — Reuters (via Mining.com), April 23, 2024
- Airbus defends Russian titanium use, urges against sanctions — Bloomberg (via Mining.com), April 12, 2022
- Ukraine’s ambassador slams Canada for Airbus sanctions waiver on critical Russian mineral — CBC News, April 24, 2024
- Russia Signals It Wants to Resume Boeing Titanium JV (VSMPO-AVISMA) — Industry Tap, October 27, 2025
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.