US accounts for 70% of foreign parts found in Russian missiles
Photo: The US accounts for 70% of foreign parts found in Russian missiles (Getty Images)
Foreign components are found in Russian missiles used by the enemy against Ukraine, with 70% of these parts coming from American companies, according to the material by RBC-Ukraine titled "Crack in Western shield: How Russia circumvents sanctions and what could stop it."
Recently, there has been increasing information that Western sanctions have not adequately impacted the Russian military-industrial complex. This includes foreign components in Russian equipment, ammunition, and missiles. For example, components of American origin from 2023 were found in the 3M22 Zircon missile that Russians launched toward Kyiv at the end of March.
It's worth noting that Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities have identified nearly 2,800 foreign components in Russian military equipment.
According to a study by the Kyiv Institute of Economics and the Yermak-McFaul Group, practically 95% of components are produced by companies headquartered in countries of the sanctions coalition. Moreover, 70% of components come from the USA..
Analysts from the Yermak-McFaul Group highlight re-export as the primary method of obtaining Western microelectronics. Essentially, components "drift" between countries until they ultimately end up in Russia.
"It could be a Brazilian company or Dubai. Then, the component travels, for example, closer to Russia and Kazakhstan. There's another chain, a third chain, and from Kazakhstan, it goes either legally as a re-export or as contraband across the border closer to Russian plants," explained Vladyslav Vlasiuk, advisor to the head of the President's Office and Secretary of the International Sanctions Group Yermak-McFaul.
Foreign сomponents for Russian цeapons
In December 2023, The New York Times reported that the Russian government and companies teamed up and approached Morocco and Turkey to use their ports to evade sanctions against Russia.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that at least 49 types of components not manufactured by Russia were found in Russian Kinzhals, and at least 53 types in the Kh-101.
According to Reuters, the United States is attempting to halt the flow of American components to Russia, which it uses in weapons production.
