Supplies of drone components to Russia being cut off: Zelenskyy’s office reveals details
Illustrative photo: how foreign components from 2026 end up reaching the enemy (wikipedia.org)
Pressure from sanctions on suppliers of components for Russian drones is already showing initial results — Dutch microchips are no longer being found in Shaheds. However, American, Swiss, and Japanese components are still present, states Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasyuk during a meeting with journalists.
Dutch components may have disappeared from Russian Shahed drones.
A new analysis of Shahed drones that struck western Ukraine on the Security Service of Ukraine day recorded the absence of components from the Dutch company NXP.
"I am cautiously optimistic that Russia may have stopped receiving components from the Netherlands, which would be a very good result of our joint efforts," said Vladyslav Vlasyuk.
According to him, in January, he personally met with representatives of NXP. The company reviewed its internal procedures and responded to the information that was provided.
What was found instead
Other suppliers have not disappeared. In the same drones, investigators found:
- American components dating from late 2025
- Parts from Switzerland’s STMicroelectronics, also from late 2025
- An increased share of Chinese components
- Circuit boards manufactured in March 2026
"We still traditionally see Switzerland’s STMicroelectronics from late 2025, and it’s honestly not even funny anymore," noted Vladyslav Vlasyuk.
Regarding Switzerland, he explained that there is an ongoing "endless ping-pong" between the Swiss and Italian governments, with each side claiming production is not on its territory but in China.
Experts also identified fresh Japanese components, and the information has already been passed to partners.
Lawsuits against US manufacturers
At the same time, American lawyers are seeking in Ukraine victims of strikes involving weapons that contain US-made components, with the aim of filing lawsuits.
"The process will be long, but it looks promising," Vlasyuk said.
In theory, such cases could lead to multimillion-dollar rulings against specific manufacturers — although this remains a distant prospect.
If in 2022–2023 Iran supplied Shaheds to Russia, now the opposite is happening: Russian guidance systems are appearing in Iranian strike weapons.
"Terrorist regimes will always exchange with each other," Vlasyuk said.
According to him, two Shaheds are capable of shutting down the world’s largest LNG terminal in Qatar. He also called on the UAE to stop turning a blind eye to supplies for Russia’s military-industrial complex.
Meanwhile, in the downed Iranian drones used by Tehran to attack US bases in the Middle East, both American and Russian components were found.
Previously, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) published a breakdown of a jet-powered Shahed — the turbojet version of the Geran-3 drone.
Out of 45 identified components, half were US-made, eight Chinese, seven Swiss, and the rest British and Japanese.
According to RBC-Ukraine, intelligence has identified more than 100 foreign components in Russian drones and missiles — including in the Geran-2, the Korsar drone, and the Kh-69 cruise missile.
Iran is only one of the suppliers on this list.
