Sanctions are sanctions, and the Russians continue with Western technology. Dutch chips found in drones

Integrated circuits from the Netherlands, produced after the introduction of sanctions in 2022, are still found in Russian drones and missiles, RTL Nieuws reported on Monday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague considered this “very undesirable”.

According to an investigation by RTL Nieuws, which analyzed data from Ukrainian military intelligence, over 5,000 were found in the remains of Russian drones, missiles and other weapons systems. western electronic components. Among them, as many as 379 came from the Netherlands, mainly microchips necessary for navigation and control.

Of the over 300 chips whose production date could be determined, almost half (44.5%) were produced after February 24, 2022, i.e. after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. In the case of the Netherlands, two thirds of the 32 chips analyzed were created after the outbreak of the war.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the finding of new Dutch components in Russian drones and missiles as “very undesirable” and announced further actions to combat sanctions evasion. The Hague allocated EUR 36.5 million for this purpose.

According to experts from the Clingendael Institute and the PAX organization, the presence of new chips does not mean that companies are consciously breaking the law. The problem is rather the re-export through third countries, especially China, and the lack of effective control over trade in components.

The report identified three companies related to the Netherlands: NXP from Eindhoven, Nexperia from Nijmegen and STMicroelectronics, registered in Amsterdam. All said they complied with export regulations but declined to comment on delivery details.

Patryk Kulpok from The Hague (PAP)

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