The Russian edition of The Insider conducted an investigation in which it was found that contractors of enterprises that manufacture Russian missiles, in particular "Kinzhal" and "Iskander", are still receiving goods from Europe and avoiding Western sanctions.
The Kinjal and Iskander missiles are manufactured by the Kolomna (Russian Federation) Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering corporation, which is part of the Rostec State Corporation High-Speed Complexes holding.
For the production of missiles, the corporation receives American microcircuits from Texas Instruments, Analog Devices and Altera thanks to Moscow-based ETC Electronics LLC, which imports microcircuits through the Chinese company ETC Electronics Limited.
The formal founder of "ETS Electronics" is Kateryna Kulakovska, an employee of the "Mikron" division, which belongs to "Rostech". "ETS Electronics" received a diploma from Defense Minister Serhiy Shoigu, but did not fall under EU sanctions.
The Espec corporation receives heat and cold chambers from the Moscow company "Ostek-Test" — it imports Espec equipment from Poland.
Lathes for the production of rockets were supplied by the company "KEB-Rus", a partner of the German company KEB, a supplier of components and a developer of control systems for technological processes and equipment based on them. During the full-scale war, KEB-Rus imported, in particular, cables from Germany.
Another supplier, the "World of Machine Tool" company, supplied the "Design Bureau of Machine Building" corporation with the tools of the manufacturer Sandvik, which it itself receives from IR-Logistik GMBH from Berlin.
The Scientific and Research Institute of Electronic Devices, which creates "brains" for "Kinzhals", has a contractor JSC "Radiant-EK". He also supplied integrated microcircuits to the corporation from Kolomna. After 2022, Radiant-EK will import coils and tapes for protective packaging of electronic components from Germany. Sender — Advantek Gmbh.
UAB Breitto from Lithuania, Baltic Shipping Agency LTD Sp. z o. o. from Poland, UAB CUST LT also from Lithuania, Hermis Ekspo SIA from Latvia, Groupe DʼInvestissement Financier SA from Belgium, Aberlink Ltd from Great Britain and others.
- Russia can still supply numerous sanctioned goods through third countries. The import of semiconductors, integrated circuits and other technologies from Kazakhstan, the UAE, Turkey, and China to Russia has recently increased sharply.
- The New York Times newspaper wrote that the Russians have learned how to overcome Western sanctions and not stop the production of missiles. As a result, the production of rockets exceeded the pre-war level, and Russia produced seven times more ammunition than all the countries of the West combined.
- At the end of January, Dutch journalists reported that microcircuits from Dutch companies, despite the sanctions, still end up in Russia. They are delivered there through Chinese intermediaries. Before that, the Administration of the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, provided the Chinese government with evidence that China is helping Russia in the war with Ukraine.