Energy News
WAR REPORT
Kyiv hospital strike highlights Russia's sanctions evasion
Kyiv hospital strike highlights Russia's sanctions evasion
By Fabien ZAMORA
Warsaw (AFP) July 21, 2024
The Kh-101 cruise missile that struck a children's hospital in Kyiv in early July perfectly illustrates the ability of the Russian defence industry to overcome Western efforts to cut its supply of key components.

The July 8 attack, which killed two people and damaged large portions of the surrounding buildings of the clinic treating about 600 patients, provoked international outrage.

Yet "just since the beginning of this week, Russia has used more than 700 guided aerial bombs, more than 170 attack drones of various types and almost 80 missiles against Ukraine", said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Long gone are the days when Western military officials would report that Russian military production capacity was insufficient to sustain the war in Ukraine, or when a Ukrainian official said Russian strikes would soon stop because of a lack of ammunition.

The Financial Times reported, without naming its sources, that Russia is now producing eight times as many Kh-101s as before its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Experts consulted by AFP would not confirm the figures, but all underscored Russia's increased capacity to build more of these crucial cruise missiles.

"I would say the real number might be even higher," said Vladislav Inozemtsev, a Russian economist who lives in exile. He estimates that Russia will make 700 to 750 this year and that production could reach 1,000 units in 2025.

"In April 2024, Ukrainian sources reported monthly production of 40 Kh-101 missiles," much higher than the 56 produced over the whole of 2021, said a Western source in the arms sector.

However, the operating systems of these missiles require many components that are made in countries that support Kyiv and have imposed sanctions on Russia.

US-made AMD memory cards, Texas Instruments microcircuits and Dutch-made Nexperia buffer chips have all been found in the debris of Kh-101 strikes, according to the official site war-sanctions.gur.gov.ua.

"Not all the electronic components inside of Russian missiles are military grade. Many of them if not most are consumer-grade or industrial-grade and still available for Russia on the global market," said Pavel Luzin, a specialist in Russian defence policies.

"Moreover, there was a storage of electronic components in Russia made before 2022."

- 'No sign of vulnerability' -

With the help of friendly countries, Russia has set up trading companies and "shows no signs of vulnerability in its supply chains," said an industrial source.

"First, there are the Chinese who supply the Russians with many kinds of dual-use products which are successfully used by the military industry," Inozemtsev said.

The industrial source added: "The main foreign components found on the Kh-101 wrecks today are American or Taiwanese commercially available processors, purchased by Russian trade missions in embassies abroad or through shell companies."

Some countries have become important hubs.

In a report published in late 2023, British research institute Rusi said that "faced with losing access to essential supply lines, Russia adapted, rerouting trade flows through friendly jurisdictions and bordering countries, often using complex front-company networks to evade scrutiny."

"For example, in 2022, Armenia's microelectronics imports from the US and EU increased by over 500 and 200 percent, respectively, with most of these later re-exported to Russia."

Rusi also noted that the value of Kazakhstan's microelectronics exports to Russia increased from around $250,000 in 2021 to over $18 million in 2022.

But sometimes these sales pass directly through Western countries, Rusi said, such as purchases by Russian company Compel JSC from Germany.

A Stuttgart court sentenced a 59-year-old Russian-German man on Wednesday to almost seven years in prison for having supplied 120,000 components and other pieces of equipment to Russia between January 2020 and May 2023.

"There is little that can be done to stop these flows," Inozemtsev said.

"The only efficient thing would be to consider sanctions against Western semiconductor producers to force them to better vet their clients. But such measures would be too painful for Western companies."

fz-ant-bur/alf/gv/rlp/rsc

AMD - ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS

Related Links
Space War News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WAR REPORT
Lithuanian MPs vote to quit convention on cluster munitions
Vilnius (AFP) July 18, 2024
Lithuania's parliament on Thursday voted for the Baltic state to withdraw from an international treaty against cluster munitions, a move attributed to security reasons by the NATO member and decried by campaigners. The bill, which still requires the president's signature, would end Lithuania's participation in the Oslo convention prohibiting the use, transfer, production and storage of cluster bombs. The munitions can be dropped by aircraft or fired by artillery before exploding in mid-air and d ... read more

WAR REPORT
Chemists design novel method for generating sustainable fuel

Chemists Develop Efficient Method to Convert CO2 into Sustainable Fuel

Methanol-powered ship to set sail for Europe's first 'green' route

Shell sees heavy writedowns in Q2 due to shelved biofuel project

WAR REPORT
HKUST Researchers Unveil Hidden Structure for Enhanced Perovskite Solar Cells

CityUHK Develops Advanced Passivator for Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

Redwire to supply additional roll-out solar arrays for Thales Alenia Space satellites

Kinematics unveils advanced ST Series Actuators for solar trackers

WAR REPORT
Engineers Develop Cost-Effective Seafloor Testing Device for Offshore Wind Farms

Why US offshore wind power is struggling - the good, the bad and the opportunity

Robots enhance wind turbine blade production at NREL

Offshore wind turbines may reduce nearby power output

WAR REPORT
Bosch to buy US firm's air conditioning business

Iraq to import electricity from Turkey

UK climate strategy under scrutiny at landmark court case

Climate talks host urges rich nations to break stalemate

WAR REPORT
Optimizing Thermal Stability in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Rock-Based Super Battery Set to Revolutionize Electric Cars

FLARE Fusion Neutron System Unveiled by SHINE Technologies

EU, Serbia sign deal to kickstart lithium battery development

WAR REPORT
US to phase out federal purchase of single-use plastics

Microbes Identified to Eliminate Specific PFAS Contaminants

Spain cleans up after mystery substance closes three beaches

Leftover emeralds: the dream of Colombia's poor miners

WAR REPORT
Ivory Coast tilts economy from farming to natural resources

Oil-tainted lake a symptom, and symbol, of Venezuela's collapse

COP29 hosts urge fossil fuel majors to donate to climate fund

Largest Recorded Methane Leak Detected in Kazakh Oil Well

WAR REPORT
AI enhancements drive Mars rover discoveries

Voyagers of Mars: The First CHAPEA Crew's Yearlong Journey

Mars Likely Experienced Cold and Icy Conditions, Study Suggests

Martian Atmosphere Unveiled Through Innovative Use of Existing Technology

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2026 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.