Russia's suppliers continue to buy US chips despite sanctions - Bloomberg
Photo: The Russians set a 40% markup on the goods to cover the logistics and payment (Getty Images)
Despite Western sanctions, Moscow continues to acquire American technologies to support its military efforts. Suppliers of Russia’s military-industrial complex have reportedly found a "loophole," reports Bloomberg.
According to data reviewed by Bloomberg, Russians have discovered a way to order microchips from the American company Texas Instruments. Specifically, some Russian distributors integrated information from Texas Instruments’ official online store, known as the TI Store, into their trading platforms.
As a result, Russian clients gain access to information on semiconductor availability and pricing before placing orders. These orders are then fulfilled and shipped via companies outside Russia.
The websites getchips.ru and altchips.ru have been primarily used for placing such orders. Although these platforms are blocked in the US and European countries, they remain accessible within Russia. The product assortment on these websites aligns entirely with the data from Texas Instruments’ official online store.
Bloomberg’s sources believe that this synchronization suggests Russian distributors have gained access to Texas Instruments’ proprietary application programming interface (API). This interface provides technical coordinates that enable programs to interact and exchange data.
For instance, one major Russian distributor processed over 4,000 orders for hundreds of thousands of Texas Instruments products between August 2023 and August 2024. These transactions totaled approximately $6 million.
Products worth around $4 million were designated for Russian military enterprises. Before reaching Russia, the goods were routed through Hong Kong or other transit countries.
Among orders identified in internal Russian documents, Bloomberg highlighted 287 marked as "canceled." This could indicate either a change in client intentions or the distributor's inability to fulfill specific requests.
According to the outlet, Russian distributors applied a 40% markup on Texas Instruments products. Bloomberg's sources indicated that this markup covered logistics and payment-related expenses.
US officials, speaking anonymously to The Washington Post, have emphasized that Western sanctions are effective and are gradually undermining Russia’s arms production. Additionally, many independent experts agree that the sanctions have degraded the quality of Russian equipment and made supply chains more fragile.
