Brussels – Despite 19 rounds of sanctions and an export ban covering all categories of military-related products, many weapons used by the Russian army and recovered on the battlefield in Ukraine still contain Western components. A report released today by the German economic research institute IFO reveals that more than a third of these components reach Moscow via Turkey.
According to data collected by IFO, 36 per cent of European military equipment in the hands of the Russian army passes through Turkey, a candidate country for EU membership. Twenty-three per cent arrive in Moscow from China, 16 per cent from Hong Kong, and 10 per cent from the United Arab Emirates. This means, the report suggests, that “sanctions evasion is based on a limited number of transit routes, rather than being dispersed across many intermediary countries”.
Brussels’ progressive tightening of sanctions has had some effect: until January 2024, indirect exports to Russia accounted for between 13 and 24 per cent of the pre-war average. Since the export ban was extended to all 42 categories relevant to the military and the EU stepped up its fight against evasion, the rate has fallen to 6 per cent.
Yet, the net is still too wide. According to an investigation conducted by several European media outlets, Western components are widely used in Russian Geran-2 drones: Moscow has reportedly launched over 4,600 of them since the beginning of the year against military and civilian targets in Ukraine. In this case, the investigation points the finger at “China, Hong Kong, and a handful of other countries.”
The problem of indirect exports is well known in Brussels: the main new feature of the 20th sanctions package against Russia—presented on 6 February by the European Commission and on which member states aim to reach agreement before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s aggression on 24 February—is the activation of the anti-circumvention tool, which allows for the prohibition of exports of goods and technologies to countries suspected of re-exporting them to Russia.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
