**Western Technology Found in Russian Drones**
The Ukrainian intelligence service discovered American, Swiss, Taiwanese, and Chinese components in two Russian drones that crashed on Moldovan soil over the weekend. The drones were part of a massive Russian air assault on Ukraine.
The discovery highlights problems with enforcing sanctions against Russia. Despite restrictions, many companies continue to supply crucial Western technology to Russia through intermediaries. This allows Russia to attack Ukrainian cities and infrastructure with its drones and missiles, straining Ukraine’s air defense resources.
**Decoy Drones Used by Russia**
According to the Ukrainian intelligence service, the Russian drones that crashed in Moldova were decoys intended to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. The GUR reported that in October, Russia launched over 2,000 drones at Ukraine, with about half being decoy drones.
The Ukrainian intelligence service published a list of imported parts from four countries, which allows the drone to mimic a signal feature of a Russian or Iranian-designed drone. The service also posted photographic evidence of the inside of the wooden decoy on their official page.
**Sanctions Evasion**
Many corporations, including those based in Hong Kong, avoid sanctions by deceitfully buying and selling heavily regulated technology for pariah countries like Russia and North Korea. Some companies remain unannounced by Ukraine’s Western allies and can trade technologies without consequence.
According to an analysis of Russian Customs data, corporate data, domain registrations, and sanctions data, Russia received chips and semiconductors worth over $4 billion from more than 6,000 companies.