Analysts have reported that russia has begun to produce and use its own version of Iranian UAVs to attack Ukraine. They, like the Iranian Shaheds, are almost entirely made of foreign components. Informs Mind.
Experts have identified about 100 parts in more than 30 modules of the downed drones. Their manufacturers are 22 companies from seven countries, including russia.
Most of the components were manufactured by companies headquartered in China, Switzerland, and the United States. And 12 were produced after russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Political expert Taras Zahorodnyi said in a comment to RFI that there was one possibility how the components got to russia legally.
"Many parts for weapons production are not banned and can be bought in the open. For example, russia imports some household appliances, and they take chips from there or buy cameras for drones. In order to prevent these goods from entering russian territory, they should be defined as dual-use goods with a ban on supplying them to russia."
Until such a decision is made, the West is trying to convince the authorities of third countries not to help russia, said Serhiy Kuzan, Head of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation.
"The EU is working with different countries. The EU sanctions representative visited Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and others. Representatives of the U.S. Treasury Department are also working in this area, researching and monitoring the movement of russian capital that is concentrated in third countries. And then there is pressure directly on these countries and their views," he said.
And it is working so far, the expert believes. According to him, even small countries like Uzbekistan or Armenia, and even China, do not want to be under U.S. or EU sanctions, and therefore are afraid to directly help russia.
There are mechanisms that will maximize russia's ability to receive foreign-made components, Kuzan said.
"Everyone knows the list of countries that help russia circumvent sanctions. The scheme is very simple: these countries increase their trade with the leading Western countries, and the surplus is shipped to russia through intermediary companies. Economists should work with this and set a certain limit. For instance, if Armenia's GDP growth per year is 5-10%, then an increase in trade by the same 5-10% is normal. Anything above that should be prohibited. After all, a potential surplus of goods could be supplied to russia," he stated.
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