KIEV, UKRAINE
With the tip of a hunting knife, a senior Ukrainian security official removed 18 screws and lifted the lid of a small black metal box. Inside were four sliding panels filled with several computer chips.
This was the electronic brain of an unexploded Russian 9M727 cruise missile — one of the devastating weapons Russia has used to strike Ukraine since it invaded the country on February 24. Russian troops have fired more than 3,650 missiles and guided rockets in the first five months of the war, according to Ukrainian authorities, destroying military targets as well as apartment buildings, shopping malls and killing hundreds of civilians. On July 14, three cruise missiles hit the city of Vinnytsia, killing 27 people, including a four-year-old girl, Ukrainian authorities said. Russia says it only fires at military targets.
The black metal box, as well as other Russian weapons shown to Reuters, were collected from the battlefield by the Ukrainian military. They contain Russian electronics bearing Cyrillic markings, sometimes handwritten.
But many of the most important electronic components inside are microcontrollers, programmable chips and signal processors bearing the names of American chipmakers, including Texas Instruments Inc. Altera, property of Intel Corp. Xilinx, owned by Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD). and Maxim Integrated Products Inc, which was acquired last year by Analog Devices Inc. Chips from Cypress Semiconductor, now owned by Germany’s Infineon AG, were also visible.
“It’s very simple,” said the senior Ukrainian official, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons. “Without these American chips, Russian missiles and most Russian weapons would not work.”
Western evidence on Russian weapons was examined as part of a Reuters investigation in collaboration with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based defense think tank, and iStories, a Russia-focused investigative news site.
While some of the most sophisticated Western chips in Russian weapons have been subject to special export license requirements for years, the investigation found that many of the weapons also contain computer chips and other components found in consumer products. These are readily available and in many cases not subject to export restrictions.
After the invasion, the United States and other countries banned high-tech exports to Russia to try to cripple its defense industry, and technology companies announced they had stopped all exports to Russia. But the reporting group found that the flow of Western brand-name computer components to Russia has not stopped, with thousands of shipments since the invasion of Ukraine. The senders were mainly unauthorized suppliers, but also included some manufacturers.
Reuters provided AMD, Analog Devices, Infineon, Intel and Texas Instruments with data from Russian customs records about shipments of their products to Russia that arrived after the invasion.
Three of the manufacturers – AMD, Analog Devices and Infineon – said they had launched internal investigations after Reuters provided customs data showing thousands of recent shipments of their products to Russia from third-party sellers. Infineon and Texas Instruments said the products they had shipped were already in transit at the time of the hack. Intel said the goods it shipped were internal company deliveries before it shut down its Russian operations in early April. Video: Russia’s firepower Asked about the use of their chips in Russian weapons systems, the companies said they comply with export controls and trade sanctions. Infineon said it is “deeply concerned if our products are used for purposes for which they were not designed.” Intel said it “does not support or tolerate our products being used to violate human rights.”
Russia’s dependence on Western electronics for its weapons systems has been known for years. Moscow has a long history of smuggling military-grade parts from the United States, including expensive specialized chips for satellites that can withstand radiation in space. On the day of the invasion, the White House announced that the United States and its allies had imposed “restrictions across Russia on semiconductor, telecommunications, cryptographic security, lasers, sensors, navigation, electronic systems and maritime technologies ” which he said would “cut away from Russia’s access to cutting edge technology”. Many civilian technology products, however, are still exempt.
Russia characterizes the conflict as a special military operation aimed at disarming Ukraine. Moscow described the sanctions as a hostile act and denied that they targeted civilians.
A spokesman for the US Department of Commerce, which administers the export restrictions, said: “Strong export controls put in place by the US and 37 allies and partners are seriously affecting Russia’s access to goods and technologies it needs to to maintain its military aggression, such as semiconductors. As time goes on and their stocks continue to dwindle, our controls will bite even harder.”
“We will remain vigilant and engage with our allies and partners to enforce our controls,” he said.
Microwave chips
The embedded computer system inside the cruise missile’s black metal box shows that Russia doesn’t just rely on cutting-edge technology for its precision weapons. For example, stamps on two of Texas Instruments’ chips – which process digital signals – indicated they were manufactured more than 30 years ago.
“For the most part, it’s the same chips you find in your car or in your microwave,” said a Ukrainian weapons expert with access to recovered Russian military equipment.
Gehan Amaratunga, a professor of electrical engineering at Cambridge University, reviewed a list of more than 600 Western components compiled by RUSI and Reuters found in Russian weapons and military systems recovered in Ukraine. “They are mostly standard products that are dated and can be found in many industrial electronics,” he said. “As such, they are not specialized military-grade products.”
However, he added, “it is a reality that all standard integrated circuits can be used for both civilian and military purposes.” “Attention! We are working as usual. Our warehouses are ready to supply equipment to customers from the Russian Federation despite EU and US sanctions.”
Despite what the West has described as an unprecedented series of tough sanctions against Russia, many electronic goods are still not subject to export controls. And even if they are, there is a global galaxy of suppliers and traders in East Asia and other countries who are willing to ship them and are often beyond the control of Western manufacturers.
A Reuters review of Russian customs records found more than 15,000 shipments of Western electronic components reached Russia after its February 24 invasion of Ukraine through the end of May. Manufacturers included AMD, Analog Devices, Infineon, Intel and Texas Instruments.
The components included microprocessors, programmable chips, storage devices and other items, according to Russian customs data.
Russia itself has made no secret of its desire to continue the flow of imported Western technology products. In June, President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing Russian companies to import electrical products and their components without the permission of patent holders.
A Moscow-based computer retailer, Kvantech, now proclaims at the top of its website in Russian: “Caution! We are working normally. Our warehouses are ready to supply equipment to customers from the Russian Federation despite EU and US sanctions.”
The US Commerce Department declined to comment. The EU did not respond to a request for comment.
The Russian site features the logos of more than half a dozen leading US tech companies. Asked how Kvantech manages to keep sourcing Western computer equipment, a company official who gave his name only as Viktor said it was a “trade secret.”
Reuters obtained Russian customs records from three commercial providers, including one that had data from 2022. To verify the most recent data, the news agency cross-referenced a sample of that provider’s past records — including date, buyer, seller , the international product code and other information – with the two other sources and found that they matched.
Andre Tauber, a spokesman for Infineon, said the German company had launched an internal investigation based on Reuters findings, which identified more than 450 shipments to Russia between February 25 and May 30 of products from Infineon-owned Cypress Semiconductor. Reuters also found nearly 2,500 shipments of Infineon products that arrived in Russia after the invasion.
“We are in the process of reviewing and verifying the information you provided and will take appropriate action as necessary,” Tauber said. “Infineon takes this matter very seriously.”
It added that “Infineon has instructed all distribution partners worldwide to prevent deliveries of Infineon products or services contrary to their sanctions and spirit.” He said, “Compliance with applicable laws is of the utmost importance to Infineon and we have established strong policies and procedures to comply with these laws. It is proving difficult to control ongoing sales throughout the supply chain.”
An AMD spokesman said the company is investigating Russian customs data shared with Reuters, which shows that between March 2 and May 31, there were about 200 shipments of AMD components and nearly 700 shipments of Xilinx components to Russia.
“The information shared is disturbing,” a…