The US is taking more measures to crack down on Russia over its war in Ukraine. According to a Reuters report, Washington has requested US companies to stop shipping goods to over 600 parties. US officials say that the goods, which includes products to missiles and drones are being diverted by these companies to Russia.
According to the US Commerce Ministry, at least 20 companies have been issued with the warning. “In the last several weeks, we’ve sent letters to more than 20 American companies, each containing a list of more than 600 foreign parties,” Assistant Secretary Matthew Axelrod said at the department’s annual export control conference in Washington, D.C. “In those letters, we’ve requested that the American companies voluntarily stop shipping to these parties due to the high risk of transshipment to Russia.”
The US’s move, comes after a number of sanctions that have been issued by the West against Russia since the war began in 2022. But despite the sanctions, American officials have stated that technology has still been detected in downed Russian missiles in Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian media reports, foreign companies, especially in third countries, have played a key role in maintaining the tech required for Russian arms. Azu International, which was registered in Turkey is a prime example. The New Voice of Ukraine reported that the firm began supplying technology from the US to Russia just after one month after the war in February 2022. As a result, the report claims that in seven months Russia received electronic components worth at least $2.6 billion, including $777 million worth of chips manufactured by Western companies like Intel Corp, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) , Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, and Infineon – which have been found in Russian weapons.
The use of foreign tech by Russia hurts Ukraine as the missiles Moscow uses are better guided by US technology.
The other problem the US has to deal with is shell companies, which have emerged in the Far East and other countries located near Russia. Russians have helped set up these companies but are kept off the books making it very difficult for US firms to trace the owners. Nevertheless, the new US sanctions announced in February this year by President Biden are believed to be making a difference.
