In 2023, russia almost completely resumed import of military goods despite sanctions - Yermak-McFaul Sanctions Group

In 2023, russia almost completely resumed the import of military goods, despite the sanctions imposed.

This is stated in the message of the Office of the President on research of the Yermak-McFaul Sanctions Group, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

It is noted that the International Task Force on sanctions against russia, chaired by Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President, and Michael McFaul, Director of the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), have developed new studies focusing on russia's attempts to bypass export control restrictions on military and dual-use goods, as well as in the field of software.

In particular, the study "Problems of Ensuring Exports Control," which was prepared together with the Kyiv School of Economics, exposes the ways of supplying military and dual-use goods to russia.

The report examines nearly 2,800 foreign components found in russian military equipment, as well as the companies responsible for their production.

It is noted that in 2023, the import of military goods to the russian federation almost completely recovered after the introduction of restrictions and amounted to 90% of the volume before the start of a full-scale invasion.

At the same time, it is noted that imports of dual-use goods decreased by almost 29%, which, according to experts, is evidence of the success of export control measures in case of their proper application and compliance.

The products of more than 250 Western companies were found in samples of russian weapons destroyed or captured.

In the first ten months of 2023, Western companies delivered critical components to russia totaling USD 2.9 billion.

Imports of CNC machines to the russian federation in January-October 2023 increased by 33% compared to the pre-sanctions period and amounted to USD 292 million.

Experts call for measures to ensure that export control is ahead of russian attempts to bypass it.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in December, the leaders of the European Union countries agreed on the 12th package of sanctions against the aggressor state of russia, which in particular plan to impose an embargo on russian diamonds.

According to the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the aggressor state of russia lacks modern optics, electronics and microchips.