Kiiw rescuers inspect wrecks of a Russian missile attack [사진 제공: 연합뉴스]
A Russian businessman was arrested in Germany on the 17th. His name is Yuri Orehoff. The US government has been accused of sending semiconductor parts, over which the US government controls export control, to a Russian defense company.
Two days later, the US Department of Justice charged Orehof and asked for extradition from Germany.
The American semiconductors and microprocessor chips that Orekhov smuggled into Russia were actually used in Russian weapons. Ukrainian soldiers found Russian weapons captured on the battlefield containing US-made components.
Many Russian weapons have been dependent on the technology and components of the United States and the West since the days of the Soviet Union.
The Royal Joint Military Research Institute (RUSI), a British security research institute, clearly showed Russia’s dependence on US components in an August 8 report.
RUSI investigated 27 Russian weapons and military equipment used by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. As a result, we have identified at least 450 microelectronic components manufactured by companies in the United States, Europe and East Asia.
Of these 450 parts, 70 percent, or 318, were made in the United States. Others were 34 in Japan, 30 in Taiwan, 18 in Switzerland, 14 in the Netherlands, 10 in Germany, 6 in China, 6 in Korea, 5 in the UK and 2 in Austria.
Foreign parts such as the United States have been used throughout the 9M727 cruise missile, Kh-101 cruise missile, drones, air defense systems, and army communications equipment. In the cruise missiles 9M727 and Kh-101, 31 foreign parts were found each.
From the start of the war until recently, these missiles attacked major Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kiiu, killing thousands of people.
Semiconductor chips from the United States and the West also served as the “electronic brain” of Russian missiles.
When a local security officer in Ukraine dismantled an unexploded bullet from a Russian cruise missile (9M727), a panel filled with computer chips was found inside. Western components such as the United States and Germany were the focus of Russian missiles which attacked at low altitudes to avoid radar.
Russian surface-to-air missile attacking the Ukrainian field [사진 제공: 연합뉴스]
Following Russia’s forcible annexation of the Krum Peninsula in 2014, the United States tightened export controls on technology and components that could be used for military purposes. It must be approved in advance by the government. After the Russian invasion in February of this year, the export of military parts was completely banned.
However, the export control parts came from Russian arms.
According to a study by RUSI, around 18% of 450 foreign-made parts were subject to export controls. It means there was a hole in the surveillance network. It is likely that the final destination was a Russian defense company that manipulated export documents or traded goods in a third country.
These allegations have been constantly raised by the war in Ukraine by media such as the Washington Post in the US and Reuters in the UK.
The U.S. Department of Commerce and the FBI launched a joint investigation in June. Orehof’s arrest is one of those results. The US government is focusing on tightening export controls and closing Russia’s secret supply chain.
Ukrainian firefighters put out the fire after the Russian missile attack [사진 제공: 연합뉴스]
The situation in which the Russian arsenal is running out of advanced missiles is detected everywhere.
The BBC reported on the 18th that Russia appears to have difficulty finding offensive weapons due to lack of supplies. The BBC, together with experts, analyzed the weapons used by the Russian military in air strikes after the explosion of the Krum bridge on the 8th.
Instead of the precision-guided missiles that were launched early in the war, self-destructive drones were mobilized and older missiles were repurposed.
Russia frequently used Iranian-made self-destruct drones this month. As there is a shortage of cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, it is analyzed that low-cost self-destructing drones are used.
On the 17th, citizens of Kiiu, the capital of Ukraine, were attacked by a self-destructive drone, killing four people. Two of the dead were young couples, whose wives were pregnant.
At least three cases of repurposed use of the S-300 surface-to-air missile developed by Russia during the former Soviet Union have been confirmed. It was used to intercept aircraft and to attack ground targets.
Douglas Berry, Senior Researcher at the British Institute for International Strategic Issues (IISS), said:
The New York Times also published a similar analysis on the 11th. Russia used conventional unguided missiles in retaliatory air strikes in response to the Krum Bridge explosion the day before, but experts said they suspect the precision missiles are running out.
Early in the war, Russia used large-scale precision-guided missiles against Ukraine.
The US Department of Defense has estimated that Russia fired about 600 missiles in the 11 days immediately following the start of the war in Ukraine.
It appears that the Russian military used a great deal of advanced firepower to initially gain momentum.
But the expectations were completely wrong. The Russian army repeatedly withdrew from the front and the war became long.
Ukrainian President Zelensky said on the 24th that “Russia has launched 4,500 missiles against us in the last eight months and now the stock of missiles is shrinking”.
It appears that Russian imports of parts needed to make advanced weapons have been blocked by Western sanctions. Now it is said that Russia has only old weapons and nuclear weapons.
