Western technology continues to flow to Russia despite sanctions: report

Russia has continued to receive computer parts from US technology companies despite Western sanctions to fuel its military’s war with Ukraine.

“It’s very simple … without those US chips, Russian missiles and most of the Russian weapons will not work,” a senior Ukrainian official told Reuters, reviewing several cases of US technology used in Ukraine on Russian weapons.

In one instance, the Ukrainian military found several computer chips inside an unexploded Russian 9M727 cruise missile, the report said. Many of the chips and signal processors are printed under the names of American chipmakers such as Texas Instruments, Intel-owned Altera, Xilinx and Maxim Integrated Products.

The chips were found in the weapons, while the U.S. and other allies have banned shipments to Russia of technology to weaken its military, but tech companies have announced they have halted shipments to Russia. But shipments to Russia have not stopped, the report said, citing “thousands of shipments” to Russia. While the problem is mostly confined to unauthorized vendors, the report found cases where it was shipped from manufacturers.

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Several rocket launchers fired during joint military exercises between Belarus and Russia
(Press service of the Ministry of Defense of Russia via AP, file)

Reuters warned that some shipments from AMD, Analog Devices, Infineon, Intel and Texas Instruments came after Russia invaded Ukraine. AMD, Analog Devices and Infineon responded that they had launched internal investigations. Infineon and Texas Instruments told Reuters their shipments were destined for Russia before the raids, while Intel acknowledged internal company supplies sent before it shut down its Russian operations in April.

In a statement to Reuters, Infineon said: “We are deeply concerned if our products are used for unintended purposes,” while Intel “does not support or tolerate the use of our products to violate human rights.”

Russia relies heavily on Western electronics for more advanced weapons systems, and Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have directed more than 3,650 missiles and rockets at Ukrainian targets since the war began.

Ukrainian firefighters try to put out a fire in a warehouse after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, Monday, May 30, 2022.
(AP Photo/Bernat Armange)

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A spokesman for the US Commerce Department told Reuters that the US was confident the export ban on Russia would be implemented, arguing that Russia’s ability to produce these weapons would be reduced as current stockpiles were reduced.

“Strong export controls imposed by the US and 37 allies and partners are having a significant impact on Russia’s access to the goods and technologies it needs to continue its military offensive, including semiconductors,” the spokesman said. “As time goes by and their reserves decrease, our controls will bite more.”