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As Russian missiles struck Ukraine, Western tech still flowed - Reuters

As Russian missiles struck Ukraine, Western tech still flowed - Reuters

As Russian missiles struck Ukraine, Western tech still flowed - Reuters
Aug 08, 2022 6 mins, 33 secs

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the West announced tough new sanctions and tech companies said they had halted all exports to Russia.

This was the electronic brain of an unexploded Russian 9M727 cruise missile — one of the devastating weapons Russia has used to strike Ukraine since it invaded the country on Feb.

Russian troops have fired more than 3,650 missiles and guided rockets in the first five months of the war, according to Ukrainian authorities, destroying military targets as well as apartment buildings, shopping centers, and killing hundreds of civilians.

Russia says it only fires at military targets.

But many of the most important electronic components inside are microcontrollers, programmable chips and signal processors stamped with the names of American chip-makers, including Texas Instruments Inc; Altera, owned by Intel Corp; Xilinx, owned by Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD); and Maxim Integrated Products Inc, acquired last year by Analog Devices Inc.

chips, Russian missiles and most Russian weapons would not work.”.

The Western components in the Russian weapons were examined as part of an investigation by Reuters in collaboration with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based defense think tank, and iStories, a Russia-focused investigative news site.

While some of the more sophisticated Western chips in the Russian weapons have been subject to special export licensing requirements for years, the investigation found that many of the armaments also contain run-of-the-mill computer chips and other components found in consumer products.

After the invasion, the United States and other countries banned high-tech exports to Russia to try to cripple its defense industry and tech companies announced that they had halted all exports to Russia.

Yet the reporting team found that the flow of Western brand-name computer parts to Russia hasn’t stopped, with thousands of shipments since the invasion of Ukraine. The shippers were mainly unauthorized suppliers, but they also included some manufacturers.

Reuters provided to AMD, Analog Devices, Infineon, Intel and Texas Instruments data from Russian customs records on shipments of their products to Russia that arrived after the invasion.

Three of the manufacturers – AMD, Analog Devices and Infineon – said they had launched internal investigations after Reuters provided the customs data showing thousands of recent shipments of their products to Russia by third-party sellers. Infineon and Texas Instruments said products that they had shipped were already in transit at the time of the invasion. Intel said goods it shipped were internal company deliveries before it ceased its Russian operations in early April!

Asked about their chips’ use in Russian weapons systems, the companies said they comply with export controls and trade sanctions.

Russia characterizes the conflict as a special military operation meant to disarm Ukraine.

“For the most part, it’s the same chips that you find in your car or your microwave,” said a Ukrainian weapons expert with access to recovered Russian military gear.

Gehan Amaratunga, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Cambridge, reviewed a list of more than 600 Western components compiled by RUSI and Reuters that were found in Russian weapons and military systems recovered in Ukraine.

Despite what the West has described as an unprecedented series of strict sanctions against Russia, many commodity electronic components still aren’t subject to export controls.

A review by Reuters of Russian customs records identified more than 15,000 shipments of Western electronic components that reached Russia after its Feb.

The parts included microprocessors, programmable chips, storage devices and other items, according to the Russian customs data.

Russia itself has made no secret of its desire to continue the flow of imported Western tech products.

Andre Tauber, a spokesman for Infineon, said the German company had launched an internal investigation based on Reuters findings, which identified more than 450 shipments to Russia between Feb.

Reuters also found nearly 2,500 shipments of Infineon products that arrived in Russia after the invasion.

A spokesperson for AMD said the firm is investigating Russian customs data shared by Reuters showing that between March 2 and May 31, there were about 200 shipments of AMD components and nearly 700 shipments of Xilinx components to Russia.

Reuters shared with Analog Devices Russian customs data showing that since the invasion, there have been more than 7,700 shipments to Russia of its components through the end of May. There have also been nearly 900 shipments of parts made by Maxim Integrated, which Analog Devices owns, the data showed.

and EU sanctions, Analog Devices ceased business activities in Russia and promptly instructed all of its distributors to halt shipments of our products into Russia.”?

A spokeswoman for Texas Instruments said it had conducted “an in-depth review” and found that 36 shipments by the company and six by one of its authorized distributors that arrived in Russia in late February and early March “were in transit before the invasion began.” Reuters found nearly 1,300 additional shipments of Texas Instruments parts to Russia by third-party sellers

Asked about more than 80 shipments of Intel products that arrived in Russia in March, a spokesman for Intel said, “In certain cases, these are internal Intel shipments to our offices in Russia, which supported software development work until our cessation of operations on April 5th.”

In addition, more than 1,300 shipments of Intel components and 800 shipments of Altera parts from other companies “in most cases … appear to be shipments from third-party suppliers who may have obtained their inventory from various sources,” he said

Russia relies on Western technology for some of its weapons systems because it doesn’t produce many of the required electronics parts itself

But Russian defense companies don’t just use any available components

Even the most ordinary chips must pass through a strict bureaucratic procurement process designed to test and certify them and make sure they don’t contain “back doors” that could enable Western spying or sabotage

The stickers appeared on electronic components recovered from Russian missiles, combat helicopters and fighter aircraft, the expert said

To prevent compromised components from making their way into Russian weapons, the Kremlin relies on a scientific institute located near Moscow

The master list of authorized domestic and imported electronic components curated by the institute can be accessed online by accredited Russian companies

In addition, research and production companies from Russia’s defense industry can submit lists of electronic parts they wish to use for a new project, and the institute tries to make sure they don’t include any unauthorized components

But an institute document seen by Reuters suggests that many Western components have no Russian equivalents

Reuters was unable to trace how specific Western chips found inside Russian weapons in Ukraine got there

However, a review of the Russian customs records shows that some of the same parts were shipped before the invasion by third-party suppliers to several Russian military companies or to other firms with links to the defense industry

Among the importers named on the customs records as having received some of the same types of Western chips found in Russian weapons are AO VOMZ, AO NPK Uralvagonzavod and AO Radiopriborsnab

According to Russian customs records, it has imported Altera and Xilinx chips, the same kind found in Russian radio and electronic-warfare equipment recovered in Ukraine

Another five Russian importers have participated in tenders to supply Russian weapons manufacturers, according to data from Goszakupki, Russia’s official public procurement platform

government, which accused them of trying to procure American components “likely” for use in Russian military programs

Russia has become adept at converting consumer-grade chips for military use

For example, Western weapons manufacturers often rely on special military-grade versions of chips to ensure they can withstand very high temperatures

Since such chips are subject to export controls and harder to procure, Russian weapons companies have found alternatives, according to one of three Ukrainian weapons experts interviewed by Reuters

Among the Western electronics found in Russian weapons, one particular type of integrated circuit stands out, according to Western microelectronics experts: programmable chips, known as Field Programmable Gate Arrays, or FPGAs

How military technology reaches Russia in breach of U.S

Dozens of Russian weapons tycoons have faced no Western sanctions

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