US chips keep finding their way into the Russian military

An added approach included limiting technology access to Russia, a move aimed at strangling Russia's aerospace industry and its military for want of foreign-made spares. The Russian airplane industry felt the jolt immediately, but the military has been working with any hiccups, and now we know the reason why.

What's exempt from sanctions

Not all products produced in the West make up the list of sanctioned items for the Russian military. For instance, food and medicine are exempt from the sanctions even if routed to the invading Army. Many items dubbed "dual use" also fall outside the scope of the sanctions.

Microchips ubiquitous in electronic appliances these days are also used in military tools like drones. It is difficult to ascertain if a chip sent to Russia will be used for civilian or military purposes.

The study found that more than two third of the components used by Russia in its military equipment either originated from companies in the US or its allies such as Japan or Germany. It is unclear whether the companies were aware of where their goods were heading.

Rerouted supply of parts

Global trade often involves selling and reselling goods by legitimate businesses in various countries. Even though the US and its allies have imposed some sanctions, other countries across the globe continue to trade with Russia. The country is leveraging its trade relations with neutral nations in the Russia-Ukraine war to get its hands on Western tech.

China alone supplied 87 percent of Russian semiconductor imports for Q4 2022, when just a year ago, its share was 33 percent. Interestingly, more than half of these goods were not even made in China but only made a stop en route to Russia.

Along with China, European nations such as Georgia and Armenia have also stepped in to cater to Russia's needs increasing their trade with the UK and the EU as well as Russia at the same time.

Semiconductor supply chains are already complex to track, given their wide applications. Nevertheless, in June this year, the EU released a list of 87 companies in China, Armenia, and the United Arab Emirates, acting as Russian intermediaries alongside 15 items that have been a part of Russian military equipment in Ukraine.

It remains unclear if even a detailed strategy such as this will bear the intended results. As the US supports Ukraine militarily in the war, its technology is neither out of Russian reach.

Though unintended, US tech is fueling the fight on both sides.