Stocks are running out, production is at a standstill. Russia has shortage of optical fiber - intelligence
A new problem has arisen in the technological sector in the aggressor country of russia: the authorities are forced to postpone the mandatory localization of optical fiber production for at least two years due to the shutdown of the only plant in the country that produced this product. The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the russian federation has proposed temporarily allowing the use of imported optical fiber for the production of cables in russia, and postponing the requirement for the mandatory use of domestic raw materials until 2028. This is stated in a message from the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) of Ukraine.
It is noted that the reason for this decision was the shutdown of the Optical Fiber Systems plant in Saransk - the only enterprise in the russian federation that produced optical fiber. The enterprise stopped working after critical damage to the equipment, and the available warehouse stocks of products, according to the government of the aggressor country, will soon be exhausted. Production is not expected to resume until the end of 2027.
"This situation has once again demonstrated the vulnerability of russian industry, which is largely dependent on a limited number of manufacturers and technology imports. Optical fiber is a key element of modern infrastructure - it is used in telecommunications, data centers, drone control systems, energy and other critical industries. Due to the shutdown of a single plant, the country has actually lost its own production of strategically important products," the FIS report says.
The intelligence community emphasizes that even the temporary lifting of the localization requirement does not guarantee a solution to the problem. China has already raised prices several times, and this creates risks of shortages and a significant increase in the cost of building telecommunications networks, modernizing power systems and other infrastructure projects.
At the same time, experts note that before the shutdown of the Optical Fiber Systems plant, its products covered about 30-40% of russia's demand for optical fiber. The total consumption of this material in the country is estimated at at least 15-20 million km per year.
"As a result, russia found itself faced with the need to rely almost entirely on imports, which further emphasizes the structural problems of its economy and technological dependence on external suppliers," the FIS summarizes.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in 2025, logging rates in the aggressor country of russia sharply decreased. The total volume of wood for sale fell to 176 million cubic meters, which is 10% lower than the previous year. This is the worst indicator since the beginning of russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine and 30% lower than 10 years ago.