Russia bypasses sanctions by buying Western electronic components for weapons through Armenia and Kazakhstan – NYT
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Russia imports Western electronic components used in the defense industry to circumvent sanctions.
As “European Truth” writes, this is reported by the New York Times.
According to the publication, at the end of last month, officials of the United States and the European Union exchanged information about prohibited technologies worth millions of dollars that enter the territory of Russia to circumvent sanctions.
Tax and trade officials noted a sharp increase in the volume of sales of microcircuits and other electronic components to Russia through Armenia, Kazakhstan and other countries.
According to their data, the Russian Federation was able to obtain particularly sensitive categories of microcircuits and other electronic devices, which, in their opinion, are critically important for the development of weapons, including Russian cruise missiles, with which Russia attacks Ukraine.
After a sharp drop immediately after the invasion of Ukraine, Russian imports of microchips have started to rise again, especially from China. According to the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank, imports between October and January were 50% or more of their pre-war average each month.
As the publication notes, American and European officials are increasingly concerned that Russia receives American and European goods through Armenia, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries.
One document with the seal of the US Bureau of Industry and Security states that in 2022 Armenia imported 515% more chips and processors from the US and 212% more from the European Union than in 2021. The document states that at that time Armenia exported 97% of the same products to Russia.
In another document, the Bureau of Industry and Security identified eight categories of chips and components considered critical to Russian weapons development that were found in one model of Russia’s Kh-101 cruise missile.
“There are certain areas of the world that are used to supply these goods to Russia. This is a problem that we are focused on,” said Matthew Axelrod, a representative of the US Department of Commerce.
Earlier, the German publication Spiegel reported that the countries neighboring the Russian Federation are buying more and more German goods and, probably, bypassing Western sanctions, they sell them to Moscow.
It is known that the EU is working on the eleventh package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, which should be aimed at suppressing attempts to avoid previously introduced restrictions.
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