Russia evades Western sanctions with support from Kazakhstan, research finds

The Russian military industry and the Army continue to receive the drones and electronic components necessary for their military campaign in Ukraine thanks to the support of Kazakhstan and other allied countries, according to a journalistic investigation published this Friday.

“Statistics show Kazakhstan helping Russia circumvent sanctions”, confirms the investigation carried out by the portal Vazhniye Istorii (Istories) together with Der Spiegel.

The study notes that “since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the import of microelectronics to Kazakhstan has more than doubled”.

“According to Kazakhstan’s National Bureau of Statistics, in 2021 the country imported US$35 million worth of microchips (approximately the same as in previous years), while in 2022, it amounted to more than US$75 million,” the report noted. portal.

Vazhniye Istorii indicated that while Kazakh exports of microchips to Russia in 2021 “they were US$ 245,000, in 2022 they were US$ 18 million”.

“The same situation is observed with drones. In 2021, the Kazakhstan National Bureau of Statistics did not even mention drones in its import and export report. In 2022, Kazakhstan imported drones for US$ 5 million and exported drones to Russia for 1.2 million”, highlights the research.

Vazhniye Istorii said the Kazakh company Aspan Arba had sent more than 500 drones to Russia in 2022, despite its profile saying that it was supposed to supply such equipment to Kazakhstan’s steel industry, agriculture and emergency services.

The Kazakh company sent these drones to the Russian company Nebésnaya Mejánica (Celestial Mechanics).

Both are linked by their respective directors, Ilyá Goldberg and Mikhail Sapózhnikov.

The former, owner of Nebésnaya Mejánica, was one of the founders of Aspan Arba, directed by the latter.

For his part, Sapóznikov, director of the Kazakh company, was previously co-owner of the Russian company.

According to the import chains revealed by Vazhniye Istorii, the Chinese DJI drones that finally reach the hands of the Russian Army are purchased in China by the Dutch company DJI Europe BV, which exports them to Kazakhstan and from there they go to Russia.

For its part, the microchips purchased from various European producers by the German distributor Ellix-Sit follow a similar path to reach Russia through Kazakhstan.

The European Union (EU), aware of this situation, today urged Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, not to allow Russia to use their territories and companies to circumvent Western sanctions and pledged support to mitigate the impact it may have on their economies the war that Moscow started in the Ukraine.

“Our goal is to weaken and ultimately stop the Russian war machine. And the EU takes the prevention of sanctions circumvention very seriously.”, said the Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC), Valdis Dombrovskis, during the II Economic Forum EU-Central Asia held in Almaty.

Source: EFE