Fragments of Russian missiles and "Shaheeds" at the conference in The Hague

18.01.2025/20/21 XNUMX:XNUMX    355

Why does the aggressor manage to bypass sanctions and obtain Western components for weapons production?

Russia, despite the sanctions imposed on it, continues to receive Western technology that becomes part of its military industry. Russian drones and missiles still contain foreign components, without which they would not be able to fly and attack Ukraine.

In particular, almost 64% of the foreign components found in Russian fighter jets are from the United States. Japan is in second place with 16%. Switzerland and Germany are in third place with a little more than 4%.

This week, a conference on sanctions was held in The Hague, where government officials, leading experts, and private sector representatives discussed compliance with and tightening of restrictions: how they affect Russia, why the aggressor still manages to bypass them, as well as new challenges and innovations in sanctions policy.

One of the important parts of the conference was an exhibition of fragments of Russian weapons, which attack Ukraine almost daily. So, what exhibits could be seen at the exhibition? How can sanctions turn the enemy's weapons into tin cans?

FOURTEEN EXHIBITS OF THE EXHIBITION

Senior Researcher at the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO) Victoria Vyshnivska carefully lays out memory cards, boards, and much more on the tables. All of these are foreign components from Russian weapons that attack peaceful Ukrainian cities almost daily. Each one is evidence of Russian aggression.

"Here, for example, is part of the Shahed navigation module. It contains Irish components. Without it, the Shahed would not be able to reach the target. And this is one of the subsystems used in deadly KABs. It is responsible for navigation, and these four small antennas manufactured by Taoglas from Ireland are, in fact, the main components that create the ability for these missiles to be controlled and are directly responsible for their movement," explains Vyshnivska.

Victoria Vyshnivska




A senior researcher at NAKO says that most sanctioned components enter Russia through China.

"China is the absolute leader. There are a lot of localized manufacturers of American electronics in China. They have factories there. And, accordingly, there are distributors who have their own distributors, and they have their own. So it is quite difficult to trace the movement of American components produced in China. There are a lot of ways they can get to Russia," says Vyshnivska.

For hours, she talks in detail about the foreign components of Russian weapons to conference participants, journalists, and ministers.

He says the most common question about the exhibition is: are these really real components of the missiles and drones that Russia is using to attack Ukraine?

"The answer is yes. This is all from Russian military equipment from the battlefield. And this really surprises the participants of the event. They did not expect that something similar could end up in the Netherlands. They also ask which countries the most components come from. - From the USA. We saw US representatives who did not ask questions. They came up, looked and knew that it was theirs. They studied it, looked at it," says Vyshnivska.

In total, the exhibition features 14 exhibits. These are fragments recovered from Russian missiles and "Shaheeds" that attacked various Ukrainian cities. Among the elements of the exhibition are various boards from the Kh-101 and Kh-59 missile blocks, UAVs ("Forpost-R", "Lancet"). Here you can also see a fragment of the optoelectronic station for observation, detection and illumination of the Kh-101 missile target, a gyroscope of the Tornado-S multiple launch rocket system, and much more. Microelectronics of Western origin were found in all of these systems.

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"We analyzed 2000 components found in six aircraft used by the Russian Air Force: MiG-31I, Su-27SM3, Su-30SM, Su-34, Su-35S and Su-57. These are mostly microelectronics: memory cards, boards, resistors, transistors, etc. Almost 64% of the foreign components we found in Russian aircraft are from the USA. Japan is in second place with 16%. Switzerland and Germany are in third place with a little more than 4%. Also on the list of countries whose components are found in Russian weapons are the Netherlands, France and Bulgaria," the executive director of the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO), a member of the Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, said in a comment to Ukrinform. Olena Tregub.

She noted: "We also analyzed the UAVs "Orlan-10"; "Corsair"; Shahed-136; Mohajer-6. Western microelectronics are also key in Russian and Iranian weapons. We counted more than 72% of components from the United States in this weaponry. The list also includes microelectronics from Switzerland, Japan, China, Taiwan and other countries."

Tregub emphasized: "Our foreign partners should not only know, but also see with their own eyes that microelectronics from leading manufacturers from the EU and the USA are entering Russian weapons, becoming their "brains" and "eyes". We are confident that such exhibits are often worth a thousand words. And it is precisely such exhibitions that help to strengthen control over supply chains to manufacturers and update sanctions lists."

STRENGTHENING SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Caspar Veldkamp together with Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže also inspected the exhibits. The Latvian Foreign Minister even took photos of fragments of Russian weapons that were presented at the exhibition.

The Dutch Foreign Minister said that work is underway to strengthen sanctions against Russia to stop foreign components for weapons production from reaching the Russian Federation.

"We are already working on this. You see that sometimes low-quality chips are exported in various legal directions, to legal countries of destination, and then through other countries they eventually end up in Russian weapons systems. This is what we have to work with. We need to act to strengthen sanctions," he said in a comment to an Ukrinform correspondent after touring the exhibition.

The minister also expressed confidence that the sanctions are working.

"We see this in the Russian military efforts and in the Russian economy. It is having an effect. However, we must constantly strengthen the sanctions and strengthen their enforcement. And that is why we are working here together with a number of European countries, with the United States, Canada, Great Britain and, of course, with the Ukrainian delegation that is present in The Hague today," Veldkamp noted.

During his speech at the conference, he emphasized that sanctions are one of the most important tools for weakening those who violate international law.

“Sanctions are one of the most important tools we have to strengthen our resilience in an unstable geopolitical situation, both now and in the future. They allow us to weaken those who violate international law… But only – and I emphasize – only if sanctions are respected. Not respecting restrictions puts us at a disadvantage, undermining our credibility at a time when we can least afford to lose it. And that is why we must all work together. After all, sanctions evaders are always looking for the weakest link,” said Veldkamp.

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He also emphasized that it is very important to do everything possible to comply with and implement sanctions.

“And by doing so, you are not just supporting the people of Ukraine. By protecting our shared security, our shared values, and our way of life, you are doing a tremendous service to your country, to good governance, the rule of law, and the international legal order,” Veldkamp said.

INDUSTRIAL ESPIONAGE OF RUSSIANS ABROAD

Dutch lawyer, expert on sanctions against Russia Helen Over de Linden says that the restrictions already in place are working, perhaps not to the extent we would like, but if they weren't there, Russia's access to technology would remain much easier. And more missiles would be produced there.

"In general, I think sanctions work. It's very good that they exist, but it's difficult for our authorities to detect their violation due to their special ingenuity, so circumvention of sanctions is very widespread. And this, of course, is a serious problem. That's why cooperation between countries is very valuable, it's important to share information, discuss issues and achievements," the expert believes.

Helen Over de Linden

Microprocessors from the Dutch company NXP Semiconductors are found in Russian weapons. Similar products from LiteOn, Nexperia, and Philips can also be found. Dutch electronics were also found in the X-101 missile, the Msta-S self-propelled howitzer, the Iranian Mohajer-6 UAV, Russian fighters, and even the North Korean KN-23/24 missile. Regarding the North Korean missile, where NXP chips dated 2023 were identified, the company responded to NAKO’s request that it “does not allow the use of its products in military systems of North Korean, Russian, or Iranian production.”

It is worth noting that microelectronics of some popular brands have been counterfeited in China. This often makes it difficult to accurately identify the origin of a particular component.

Russian weapons are directly dependent on foreign components. Therefore, quite often Russians who have lived abroad for many years also help the Russian Federation obtain banned technologies.

"It happened that goods were exported by Russians who had lived in the Netherlands for a long time and had their own businesses here. And only a few cases were discovered by the authorities and law enforcement agencies, but there could be many more," says Helen Over de Linden.

One such story is about a Russian engineer who spied on chip companies in the Netherlands.

The 43-year-old Russian worked for lithography equipment manufacturing companies ASML and Mapper Lithography and was detained on suspicion of espionage.

In December 2024, the Rotterdam District Court decided to detain a Russian engineer suspected of industrial espionage against chip manufacturing companies.

The next hearing is scheduled for February 6, 2025.

ACHILLES HEEL OF THE RUSSIAN DEFENSE INDUSTRY

Experts say that Russia lacks microelectronics, chips - these components are among the most important in the functionality of weapons or aircraft. Therefore, under sanctions, Russia is forced to buy such products in a roundabout way, through third countries with a large markup. If the flow of microelectronics is stopped, weapons production will also stop.

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"It is important to deprive the Russians of the opportunity to receive all microelectronics of Western origin. After all, without it, missiles turn into tin cans that cannot harm anyone. Today, Ukraine is being destroyed by weapons produced by Russia, North Korea, and Iran. Its key component is microelectronics. These are the "eyes" and "brains" of these weapons. So we need to act, because 90% of microelectronics are produced by the Western world. And Russia still receives all this, and not, as they like to say, using some old stocks. No, we emphasize that these are not old stocks, because we see that they are already running out. Instead, Russia is starting to buy new ones, unfortunately, it succeeds. Russia cannot do without this Western equipment, so this is the Achilles heel of the Russian defense industry. Why can't we, the Western world, strike this Achilles heel?" – emphasized Olena Tregub, a member of the Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Olena Tregub

She said that a seminar was held in The Hague for over 150 representatives of various foreign companies so that they could better recognize the end user of their products and prevent Russia from accessing foreign components and technologies.

"More than one hundred and fifty representatives of various foreign companies and manufacturers registered for the seminar. It is important for us to convey that, for example, if their country has not imposed sanctions on a company or person who is contacting them, they can check for themselves what kind of company or person it is, using open sources. We once held such a webinar for American companies. They did not even know that Ukraine has a portal that contains the most comprehensive list of everyone associated with the Russian defense industry.

"There is also a database of components most sought after by the Russian military industry in the open. So, if someone wants to buy that microchip from you, please check it, don't sell it just like that, because it's about people's lives," Tregub emphasized.

She also noted that artificial intelligence helps track the end consumer.

"Our open data analysts can understand where and what was sold, when and by whom. Therefore, we want these companies to have information and feel more responsible, so that they do not write to us that we support Ukraine and are very sorry that we sold something to Russia. We simply did not know. And there are a lot of such letters. We do not want more such letters, instead we want it to become more difficult for Russia to build its weapons," Tregub emphasized.

The very next day after the conference, Dutch Foreign Minister Kaspar Veldkamp left for Ukraine.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Netherlands, Andriy Sybiga and Kaspar Veldkamp, ​​discussed in Kyiv the strengthening of defense support, the launch of the Compensation Mechanism of the Damage Register, the acceleration of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration, and the increasing cost of war for Russia.

Iryna Drabok, The Hague

Photo by the author


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