Copyright © 2024 Euromaidanpress.com

The work of Euromaidan Press is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation

When referencing our materials, please include an active hyperlink to the Euromaidan Press material and a maximum 500-character extract of the story. To reprint anything longer, written permission must be acquired from [email protected].

Privacy and Cookie Policies.

FT: Russia still imports one-third of essential war tech from Western companies

This is one of the downsides to western companies outsourcing production to Asian countries with more lenient export controls
Microchips
Chip. Illustrative image via Promyslovyi Portal
FT: Russia still imports one-third of essential war tech from Western companies

A data analysis conducted by the Kyiv School of Economics has revealed that Russia obtained at least one-third of its essential foreign battlefield components from companies headquartered in the United States and allied nations in 2022, FT reports.

This unintended lifeline of critical technology to the Russian military occurred largely as a result of many major western firms having outsourced production facilities to Asian countries with more lenient export control policies.

The $7.3 billion worth of vital tech products—mainly advanced semiconductors, computer parts, electronics, and automotive components—were largely manufactured in non-NATO member states, according to the Ukrainian economic institute’s findings. China proved the most significant source, providing around $1.9 billion of the high-tech goods that ended up in Russian hands during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

“It’s been a normal business strategy for years for western technology companies to have manufacturing plants across Asia,” Olena Bilousova, a senior researcher at the Kyiv institute who worked on the data analysis, told FT. “But these overseas factories need to be made to comply with the same stringent export controls they would face at home to avoid this unintentional hemorrhage of technology to the Russian military.”

The data indicates the critical items were primarily sold to Russia through independent distributors and other intermediaries, exploiting a major loophole in export regulations. According to US sanctions expert Kevin Wolf, directly targeting “distributors and other middlemen” with sanctions could effectively curb the diversion of restricted tech supplies to sanctioned countries.

One prominent example cited is the US semiconductor company Analog Devices, which saw its exports to Russia rise dramatically from $123 million in 2021 to $269 million in the first 9 months of 2022, even after Analog claims it halted all direct sales to Russia following the invasion of Ukraine in February. Only $20 million of those chips were produced in the US, with most coming from company facilities located in China and Malaysia instead.

Related: 

You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.  We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society. A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support. Become a Patron!

To suggest a correction or clarification, write to us here

You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter

Please leave your suggestions or corrections here



    Euromaidan Press

    We are an independent media outlet that relies solely on advertising revenue to sustain itself. We do not endorse or promote any products or services for financial gain. Therefore, we kindly ask for your support by disabling your ad blocker. Your assistance helps us continue providing quality content. Thank you!

    Related Posts