New Dutch chips regularly found in Russian weapons despite sanctions

Dutch chips manufactured after the start of the war in Ukraine still regularly appear in Russian weapons, RTL Nieuws reports after analyzing data from over 5,000 weapon parts found by Ukrainian military intelligence. The European Union banned the export of this type of technology to Russia nearly four years ago. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it “highly undesirable” that Dutch chips still make their way to Russian drones, missiles, and other weapon systems.

Of the over 5,000 weapon parts analyzed, 379 were made in the Netherlands. And 91 percent of the Dutch parts were chips. The rest were other electronic components.

RTL managed to figure out the production date for 32 Dutch chips. 65.6 percent were made after 24 February 2022, the day that Russia invaded Ukraine. The European Union expanded export restrictions on advanced technology a day after the invasion. The goal of these sanctions was to prevent Western electronics from ending up in Russian weapons systems. Some of the Dutch chips are less than a year old.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told RTL Nieuws that it is “highly undesirable” that components from Dutch companies are still being found in Russian drones and missiles. The government is “in close contact with the Ukrainian authorities” about this and is “strongly committed to preventing the evasion of sanctions on these goods,” the Ministry said. The government already promised an additional €36.5 million to further strengthen compliance with the sanctions.

Maaike Okano-Heijmans of the Clingendael Institute and arms trade expert Frank Slijper of the peace organization PAX told the broadcaster that the presence of Dutch chips in Russian weapons doesn’t automatically mean that these companies are deliberately circumventing sanctions. According to the two experts, the problem lies primarily in the resale through China and other transit countries, and in the lack of oversight of the trade in components.