Russia actively importing Western components for arms production through China, other countries - media
Moscow is exploiting loopholes in export controls, buying through China and other countries a huge variety of Western technology to wage war against Ukraine.
This is stated in an article by Newsweek, Ukrinform reports.
It is noted that more than 60% of imported components for Russian weapons come from American companies.
From March to December of last year, Russia imported components for military equipment worth $20.3 billion. This is only 15% less than the year before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
U.S.-based companies produced 64% of the dual-use goods that Russia imported throughout that period.
In total, Russia purchased technologies produced by 155 companies headquartered in the U.S. and Europe, as well as in Asia and the Middle East.
March through December, Moscow imported 72% of the total value of its critical components from China, which is 22% more year-on-year.
But most of the dual-use technology that Russia imports from China is produced in America and Europe, undermining the argument of Western leaders that export controls deprive the Russian Federation of the advanced technology it needs to continue their war against Ukraine.
“Ukrainian authorities found imported microchips, processors, transceivers, memory devices, transistors, DC-to-DC converters and other components in four kinds of Russian-made cruise missiles: the Kh-59, Kh-101, Kalibr and Iskander-K,” the report reads.
Similar foreign-made tech was found in seven types of Russian armored vehicles and artillery units, including the Tor-M2 air defense system and the T-72 battle tank. Imported components were also found in various kinds of drones, including the Russian Orlan-10 and the Iranian Shahed models.
According to experts, the goods are resold several times, often as part of a series of deals between legitimate companies, before ending up in China or another country, where a Russian shell company can purchase the goods and export them to Russia.
Dual-purpose goods also come through the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East. At the same time, China is currently the largest transshipper of microchips and other technology. Between October and December, Russia imported 87% of its microchips from Chinese sellers, although only 40% were manufactured in China.
Critical components made by five U.S.-based companies – Analog Devices, Texas Instruments, Microchip Technology, Intel Corporation, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) – account for 52% of the tech imports found in Russian weapons systems, according to data compiled by the Ukrainian authorities and obtained by KSE Institute. Those companies are the top five manufacturers of dual-use goods found in Russian weapons.
In addition, Russia also has access to goods from a large number of medium and small-sized firms. Of the 155 companies whose critical components were found in Russian military equipment, 59 are based in the United States.
It is noted that the vast majority of companies are not involved in Moscow’s efforts to circumvent sanctions by rerouting supplies through third countries.
Since the outset of the full-scale war, Russia has also imported critical components from 18 other countries in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Along with China, Türkiye has become an important conduit for critical components shipped to Russia.