Western components of Russian weapons showcased in Brussels
The Ukrainian Hub in Brussels is hosting an exhibition of fragments of Russian weapons, in which electronic components and elements produced in the West were discovered.
The showcased samples aroused wide interest among the general public and journalists, reports Ukrinform.
During the opening of the exposition, the special envoy for the implementation of EU sanctions, David O'Sullivan, said the fact that Russia uses Western components for producing weapons that kill Ukrainians requires increased attention and decisive measures from the European institutions that deal with sanctions issues in order to make it as difficult as possible for the aggressor state to gain access to such components.
The exposure is particularly instructive for those working in the area of sanctions, the EU special representative said, adding that the constant challenge is to make obtaining these components more complicated and costly for Russia.
According to David O'Sullivan, the people of Ukraine have demonstrated outstanding resilience in the fight against Russian aggression, and now it is the West that must demonstrate similar resilience by helping Ukraine militarily, financially, and politically, including through the use of sanctions to stem the flow of "Western" components for Russian weapons.
Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an authorized adviser to the President of Ukraine on sanctions policy, emphasized that Ukraine, for its part, is in close contact with Western partners so that EU sanctions, in particular those targeting technology and components transfer for the production of weapons in Russia, work more effectively.
"We are all doing a lot to make sanctions more effective. We also have good ideas regarding the strengthening of export controls and the legal content of contractual exclusions "not for Russia". This applies to certain financial sanctions. So, hopefully, in the future, the sanctions will have a greater effect, so that Russia does not receive these Western components. The idea of this exposition is to show the real components of weapons that are killing Ukrainians right now, so that people realize why these components should not enter Russia," said a representative of the office of the President of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Representative to the EU, Ambassador Vsevolod Chentsov, who also took part in the event, emphasized that the main idea of the exposition is that Europeans could see with their own eyes and almost touch the components, produced in the West, production that Russia uses to assemble weapons killing civilians in Ukraine.
"Unfortunately, these electronics end up in Russia and are used to kill Ukrainians. And it’s not only electronics, but also components for the production of drones and other military equipment. They (Russians - ed.) cannot do this without the participation of Western companies. Therefore, it is important for us to expose it, it is important to talk about it. We will gradually make life more difficult for the Russians, limiting their access to Western components," the Ukrainian diplomat noted.
Answering the question of an Ukrinform correspondent of what actual measures can be applied against governments or entities involved in illegal trade with Russia in prohibited components, Vsevolod Chentsov recalled that these measures are reflected in the already existing EU sanctions packages against the aggressor state so now the question arises regarding their effective implementation.
"There is already a set of such measures, which is reflected, including in the sanction packages. These are the so-called Russian exclusions. Companies must bear responsibility if their products end up on the Russian market. But this requirement does not yet apply to branches of some European companies in Southeast Asia. Therefore, we are currently working to ensure that these provisions are taken into account in the next sanctions package. This will significantly increase the level of responsibility of these producers," the Ukrainian ambassador said.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, referring to the Kyiv Research Institute of Forensics under the Ministry of Justice, missiles and drones that Russia launches on peaceful settlements across Ukraine on a daily basis contain components manufactured in more than 20 countries. Much of the electronics and spare parts are produced in the West, including the USA, Germany, the UK, and other countries. Although most of these components were not originally intended for use in military production, Russia continues using them to this end.
In 2023, in evasion of Western sanctions, Russia imported chips for arms manufacture worth over $1 billion. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has launched at Ukraine more than 8,000 missiles of all types, manufactured with the use of the mentioned components.