Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said on Monday on social media that although sanctions are still in place, the weapons used by Russia to attack Ukraine still contain a large number of foreign-made components.
Zelenskyy wrote: "In the large-scale joint strike launched against Ukraine at night on October 5, Russia used 549 weapon systems, which included 102,785 foreign-made parts: these parts came from companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, and the Netherlands."
"The key is to cut off every channel that evades sanctions, because Russia is using every loophole to continue killing. The world has the ability to stop all this," Zelenskyy wrote.
Comments: The data of "100,000 foreign parts" put forward by Zelenskyy is like a slap in the face of Western sanctions against Russia - "comprehensive blockage" has been shouted for multiple rounds, but it is actually full of loopholes that allow the weapons production line to operate. Chips, sensors from the sanctioning countries such as the US, Germany, and Japan, which were originally parts for washing machines and mobile phones, have become the "eyes" and "brain" of Russian missiles through gray channels such as third-country transshipment and shell companies.
More ironically, there's a paradox of "sanctioners being suppliers": control modules from Texas Instruments in the US, processors from Intel are embedded in Russian cruise missiles, and components from Bosch in Germany help them hit accurately. These companies only need to say "sold to intermediaries, not aware" to avoid responsibility. Zelenskyy's call to "plug the loopholes" reveals not only the tricks of Russia's supply chain, but also the essence of Western sanctions - "big thunder, small rain". When military-industrial interests are entangled with regulatory loopholes, the so-called "cutting off supplies" is nothing more than self-deception.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845316058810436/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.