Russia's Unlimited Missile Glitch
Texas Instruments, Motorola, Intel. These are a few of the many Western companies that make irreplaceable parts for most of the Russian missiles. In fact, over 95% of parts of such a missile are made by companies in the US or EU.
Thus, when the war on Ukraine began, the US and EU put sanctions on the sale of such components to Russia. They hoped that Russia could not produce these components on their own and thus would eventually run out of firepower.
However, recent data shows that Russia has made more missiles in 2023 than in 2022 and show no signs of stopping.
What is worse is that, as per Kyiv Independent, the Russian missiles still use the same parts from the same American companies. How?
The Hidden Network
One such company in Singapore recently caught by the police had an office full of boxes and one employee. The owner - A Spanish millionaire who owns an aeroplane club in Catalonia.
Similarly, people have established a vast network of shadow companies that operate worldwide and help in the procurement of missile components.
The shadow companies are often registered in offshore tax havens and operate behind a veil of secrecy, making it difficult for authorities to track their transactions. These companies are used to procure missile components from various countries, including China, Singapore, and even small nations like Maldives.
Yes, you read it right. Maldives, the small vacation nation, is an indirect supplier of weapon parts to Russia.
What do such small nations in the network get out of it?
Traffic. Port charges, customs and other taxes are the benefits that countries like Maldives get out of it.
Another way Russia evades sanctions is by using front companies that act as intermediaries between legitimate companies and the shadow companies. The front companies help in the procurement of the necessary components and then sell them to the shadow companies, which then ship them to Russia. This makes it difficult for authorities to identify the ultimate recipient of the components.
The use of shadow companies and front companies has allowed Russia to evade the sanctions and continue with its missile program. These activities are not only detrimental to global security but also undermine the effectiveness of economic sanctions. While officers work relentlessly to stop such shadow companies, the network only grows larger by the day.
The point of this article is not War. I do not support anyone in any war as I firmly believe that in a war there are only losers.
The point of this article is the questioning of the effectiveness of trade sanctions in a 150+ nation economy. There will always be loopholes and routes to avoid these. However, is something more effective than sanctions possible? Let us know in the comments below.
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