Once the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, it took only minutes for US President Joe Biden to announce sanctions against Russia to the cutting-edge technology that could be used for the siege of Kyiv. The EU didn’t need more time. It prepared the first sanctions against Russia, approved by the EU-27, just days before the fateful 24th of February. Kremlin’s economic isolation doesn’t seem effective enough.
Russian economic indicators do not reflect the real impact of countless sanctions They were pushed out of Washington and Brussels by the invasion, experts say. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates Putin’s 6% slump in the economy compared with previous forecasts that predicted a much bleaker outlook. The Russian president even had time to mock the trade restrictions he imposed on Western countries, which some analysts interpret as a collapse of Russian industry caused by import restrictions on electronic components. there is But these materials continue to arrive.
A Reuters study conducted in collaboration with London-based British defense think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and Russia-focused media outlet iStories found: Western electronic components continue to flow into Moscow across bordersThis is reflected in the Russian weapons collected on the battlefield by the Ukrainian military, which news agencies show include US-made microcontrollers, programmable chips, and signal processors. These parts are essential to their operation.
This revelation caused the companies involved to react. Companies such as Texas Instruments Inc, Altera owned by Intel Corp, Xilinx owned by Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), Maxim Integrated Products Inc acquired last year by Analog Devices Inc, and Cypress Semiconductor owned by Germany’s Infineon AG. I have seen their products incorporated into weapons used by the Russian militaryCommonly used chips have also been found inside weapons that make up standard products, which are also manufactured by Western companies and may not be subject to sanctions.
Trading in computer equipment between the West and Moscow does not stop, according to a Reuters survey. From February 24, the day of the invasion, to the end of May, at least 15,000 electronic components were shipped to Russia from factories in Europe and the United States. These shipments included microprocessors, programmable chips, storage his devices, and other items, according to data gleaned from Russian customs records. The sanctions remain a dead letter, partly because they do not cover all components, and most importantly, because some suppliers continue to do business despite the restrictions.
Some materials have been circulating in Russia since before the invasion, claiming companies such as Texas Instruments and Infineon identified by the investigation. According to customs records reviewed by Reuters, Some of these parts were shipped before the invasion By a number of Russian military companies or others associated with the defense industry such as AO VOMZ, AO NPK Uralvagonzavod, AO Radiopriborsnab, and third-party suppliers to state-owned arms giant Rostec. Russia relies on Western technology for its arms industry. In fact, the country has a long history of sourcing contraband parts from the United States.
Rostec, whose oligarch CEO Sergei Kemezov worked with Putin in the KGB, The “cornerstone” of Russia’s industrial, technological and defense sectors, and included in US and EU-led sanctions. The company doesn’t produce many electronic components, so it relies on imports from overseas, but it carefully controls the products it buys and tests and certifies them for safety.
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