The US turns a blind eye to its export of parts for Russian missiles – media

American companies, through intermediaries, continue to supply Russia with electronic components for missile production. However, US authorities have not accused them of violating export controls. This was stated in a Bloomberg publication on Wednesday, October 2.

The publication recalls that in 2022, the United States and its allies introduced export controls banning the supply of a wide range of technologies to Russia to undermine its defense industry. The restrictions made it illegal to ship Western-designed semiconductors to Russia if they could be used for military purposes, even if they were made in China.

However, components produced by a number of Western companies are regularly found in Russian missiles, such as the Iskander. We are talking about American Silicon Laboratories Inc., Texas Instruments Inc., Analog Devices, German Infineon Technologies and the American company with Chinese capital Integrated Silicon Solution Inc. A large number of part discoveries were made after February 2022.

Since March 2022, millions of parts manufactured by Analog and restricted by US export controls have been shipped to Russia, according to customs data. Last year alone, Russia imported $326 million worth of Analog components, according to an analysis of Russian trade data by researchers at the Kyiv School of Economics.

Parts are not sold directly in Russia; American chip companies use authorized distributors, who in turn sell to electronics suppliers around the world.

The US has tried to stop the flow of missile parts to Russia by cracking down on these middlemen. At the end of August, the US Treasury announced sanctions against 400 entities for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, including more than a dozen Hong Kong companies. But it did not accuse Analog or other American manufacturers of violating export controls, the newspaper wrote.

Analog says it fully complies with export laws, does not condone the use of its products by the Russian military and is taking steps to strengthen controls. However, the company’s products continue to be supplied to Russia.

Ukrainian officials say Western semiconductor companies are making little effort to control their supply chains and stop the flow of chips to Russian military factories.

“Companies can say that they do not sell anything in Russia, that they only sell to some intermediaries but this does not change the fact that these parts go to Russia in huge volumes,” said Kirill Budanov in a comment to the head of. the Main Intelligence Directorate.

He emphasizes that the only way to block the Kremlin’s ability to invade Ukrainian territory is to stop the flow of semiconductors to Russia. “It’s not going to happen. Everyone is looking at what’s going on,” he concluded.

Let’s recall that earlier intelligence showed the “filling” of the Iranian kamikaze drone Shahed, with which Russia regularly attacks Ukraine.