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Despite sanctions, Russia imported advanced chips valued at more than $1 billion from U.S. and European companies during the initial nine months of 2023, according to classified data from the Russian customs service obtained by Bloomberg.
The imported chips encompassed products from Intel Corp, Advanced Micro Devices, and Analog Devices Inc., along with European brands such as Infineon Technologies AG, STMicroelectronics NV, and NXP Semiconductors NV.
The companies, whose products were discovered in Russia, said that they strictly comply with sanctions and discontinued operations in Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
There is no data suggesting that the companies violated any sanctions and exported technology to Russia, according to Bloomberg. The technology entered Russia through countries such as China, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. and the European Union have been collaborating to impede these channels, with a particular emphasis on a designated set of high-priority items known as dual-use and advanced goods. These items are identified either within Russian weaponry used in Ukraine or deemed essential to their production.
Russia stopped publishing official data shortly after February, 2022. The Federal Customs Service told Bloomberg in an emailed statement that it temporarily doesn’t provide data on foreign trade.