NEW YORK, Dec 23 - Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine opened a potential goldmine for Vladimir Arsenyev.

The 75-year-old scientist heads a Moscow firm that makes components for a communications device used by tank crews.

As Russian tanks rumbled through Ukraine in 2022, his business was awash with defence orders.

But the orders he landed turned out to be a poisoned chalice, he recounted in a series of interviews with Reuters, the first time he has spoken publicly about his struggles. He had to ramp up production at breakneck speed and deliver to tight deadlines at prices set by the Russian defence ministry.

Failure was no option. Invoking the spectre of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, Russia’s government has threatened defence manufacturers with jail time if they don’t meet contractual obligations.

By spring 2023, Arsenyev’s factory was behind schedule on production, and senior executives were feuding, interviews with two key players and court documents show.

Sergei Mosiyenko, a minority shareholder, said he could see the company was going to miss deadlines, so he blew the whistle. “The defence ministry is the customer,” he told Reuters. “They are always right.”