American technology in the arms of the Russians. The case is being investigated by the FBI

FBI and US trade agents interview representatives of technology companies to determine how US-made electronics are used in Russian weapons used in Ukraine – The Washington Post reports.

According to the website of the American newspaper, chips made in the United States were found in Russian equipment seized or destroyed in Ukraine. According to a source quoted in The Washington Post, Western elements have been found among others. Remnants of military radio stations, drones, tanks, ground control equipment, anti-aircraft defense systems and ship missiles.

An anonymous official from the Department of Commerce – a company responsible for export control – explained that the purpose of the investigation was not to impose fines on U.S. manufacturers, but to establish how chips and other components could end up in Russian military equipment. In 2014, the United States began imposing sanctions on Moscow. FBI agents are currently trying to trace the network of buyers and intermediaries of US products in these transactions.

It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. According to the US media, this does not apply to electronic devices coming from the United States. This is because investigators in various countries have identified other elements of Western production in Russian weapons.

Since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, many of them appear to have been made many years ago, before the US tightened export restrictions. According to the London-based Conflict Weapons Research (CAR) team, However, some components may not be developed until 2020.

As the Washington Post notes, for many years Technology companies It is possible to legally supply basic computer chips to Russian military units without permission from the US government. Therefore, to identify an illegal sale, the type of chip and its sale date must be specified. Transaction tracking can be difficult as electronic components often go through the distributor chain before reaching the end user.

It should be noted that Russia produces some computer chips, which force it to import the necessary components. The United States has a long history of restricting exports of components that are technically sophisticated and designed for military use.

To sell such parts to Russian companies, you need a special government license. Common electronic transactions in merchandise, However, it was not widely regulated until 2014.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States and its allies banned the sale of chips to Russian military buyers and imposed restrictions on the sale of these components to other companies, preventing the Kremlin from accessing advanced Western technology.

The CAR sent investigators to Ukraine last month to investigate Russian weapons And communication devices seized or destroyed by guards. During the experiment, components were found Made by 70 technology companies in the US and Europe. The labels on the two foreign chips show that they were created in 2019.

This is important to me because it shows that even after Russia took Crimea and added it to the first set of sanctions, it was able to acquire important technology and key components for the important equipment currently in use against Ukraine. South African investigator Damien Splitter said.

He said the components acquired in the Lugansk region were found on two Russian military radio stations They scratched some identities. This may suggest that, according to Splitter, someone “tried to make it harder to determine later who was involved in the supply chain.” Another set of chips manufactured by Western companies in 2017-2020 was on the Russian rockets that hit Mykolayiv on March 29 in southern Ukraine.

Adam Kofer, journalist of Virtualna Polska