According to a study by the London-based think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Russia continues to import electronic components and semiconductors from the West, circumventing the severe economic sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union after the Russian invasion.

An investigation based on customs documents shows that batches of semiconductors and other technologies continue to enter Russia, in particular from Hong Kong and Turkey.

For example, Fortap, a Russian company based in St. Petersburg, was founded by an entrepreneur in April and has since imported at least $138 million worth of electronic components. One of Fortap’s largest suppliers is the Turkish company Bion Group Ltd Sti, which until recently traded in textiles and recently expanded into the electronics sector. Another Russian company, Titan-Micro, imports the same components after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Hong Kong-registered Pixel Devices Ltd is among the companies shipping Western technology to Russia: since April 1, this company has shipped $210 million worth of electronic components, including Intel and AMD products worth at least $50 million, according to Russian customs. . records.

A US Commerce Department spokesman said Russia’s access to semiconductors from all sources has been reduced by almost 70% since the invasion began due to international sanctions. “No wonder Russia is working hard to get around the controls.”

In fact, as the study shows, the volume of semiconductor imports to Russia has indeed increased significantly. According to the Royal United Services Institute, Russian companies closely associated with the St. Petersburg Center for Special Technologies, which manufactures Orlan-10 drones and is associated with the Russian military, have dramatically increased imports of Western-made components. since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. These imports are likely to allow the armed forces of the Russian Federation to maintain and expand the production of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Financial records and customs data show that many of the imported high-tech Western products are likely purchased by St. Petersburg-based SMT-iLogic 3.