Russia has purchased more equipment for military purposes in the West than in China

From January to October last year, Russian imports of dual-use goods subject to sanctions imposed by Washington and its allies amounted to almost $9 billion, only 10% lower than the level that preceded the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

At the same time, an analysis of Russian trade figures showed that in the first 10 months of last year, Western companies supplied 48% of military components, which exceeds the 45% supplied from China. These conclusions are contained in the report "Problems of Ensuring Export Control", compiled by the International Working Group on Sanctions against Russia (Yermak-McFall Group) and the Kyiv School of Economics.

The list of manufacturers of dual-use goods received by Russia in 2023 is headed by the American semiconductor giant Intel.

It is followed by China's Huawei.

The top 10 includes American companies Analog Devices, AMD, Texas Instruments, IBM, and Dell.

Thus, almost half of the "military" goods purchased by Russia during the first three quarters of 2023 came from manufacturers headquartered in countries that have imposed export controls, Politico reports.

To continue the active phase of hostilities in Ukraine, especially in terms of air attacks, Russia is in dire need of microchips, sensors, and navigation systems. They are needed to replenish the stockpile of weapons, such as hypersonic missiles "Kinzhal" or reconnaissance and strike drones, including Iranian-made drones "Shahed".

Among the countries that produce and supply such components to Russia, China, Hong Kong, Turkey, and the UAE are leading the way.

The United States and the European Union are increasing diplomatic pressure on these countries to stop exporting dual-use goods.

However, the authors of the report argue that the Western coalition should make more serious efforts, in particular, to demand more careful control over the use of products from the manufacturing companies themselves.

Thus, if diplomatic efforts fail, trade quotas should be imposed on these countries or on specific products.

At the end of December, US President Joe Biden signed a decree allowing secondary sanctions against banks located in different countries that conduct payment transactions for goods that Western countries have banned from being supplied to Russia. The banks in question are those that conduct transactions with military and dual-use goods, such as microchips, machinery used for the manufacture of weapons, chemicals, ball bearings, and optical systems.

In addition to China, Hong Kong, Turkey, and the UAE, Morocco, Central Asia, and the Caucasus have become the main centers of re-export to Russia.