According to a senior European diplomat, Russia appears to be successfully circumventing European Union and GXNUMX sanctions to secure critical semiconductors and other technologies for its war in Ukraine. Bloomberg.
Modern microcircuits and chips produced in Europe are brought to Russia through third countries to bypass EU and G7 sanctions.
"Russia appears to be successfully circumventing European Union and GXNUMX sanctions to ensure the security of semiconductors and other technologies needed for its war in Ukraine, according to a senior European diplomat."
At the same time, Russian imports managed to return to the pre-war level in 2020, and the Russian Federation receives the necessary high-precision parts to circumvent sanctions.
"An analysis of trade data shows that advanced microcircuits and integrated circuits made in the EU and other allied countries are supplied to Russia via third countries such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan," the source said.
The insider also reported that supplies to the Russian Federation from China have increased, as Beijing began to play an increasingly important role in supplying Moscow. The diplomat drew attention to the fact that the countries that supply Russia with European-sanctioned goods have not imposed restrictions themselves, but most of them deny their assistance to the Russian Federation.
It is noted that the export of technological goods of some countries to Russia, which can be used for military purposes, has actually increased from zero to millions of dollars.
So, for example, in 2022, Kazakhstan exported $3,7 million worth of semiconductors to the Russian Federation, although at the beginning of the war, a similar figure was $12.
Also, from 2017 to 2021, Russia annually purchased modern chips and microcircuits worth an average of $163 million from the EU, the United States, Japan, and Great Britain. In 2022, this amount will drop to approximately $60 million.
However, Turkey, Serbia, the UAE and 12 other economies in Eastern Europe and Central Asia helped make up for this shortfall. In the same period, the supply of high-tech components to these countries from allied countries increased by a similar volume.
The diplomat emphasized that similar patterns can be observed in hundreds of product categories, but it is especially important to pay attention when it comes to modern chips and microcircuits that can be used for military purposes.
