Shipments of European technology useful for military drones continue to reach Russia despite the European Union's tightened export controls, according to reports by L’Echo and De Tijd on Wednesday.
Most of the drones shot down in Ukraine this year were Geran-2 models.
An investigation by De Tijd, in collaboration with The Kyiv Independent, revealed that 112 of the 687 components used in these drones originate from 19 European companies based in eight countries.
These countries include Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, and Poland.
Belgian components, manufactured by a company in Sint-Niklaas, were also found in Russian drones.
Despite the company’s opposition, over 200 shipments of its products were sent to Russia between September 2022 and July 2023, passing through Hong Kong, China, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU strengthened controls on the export of dual-use (civil and military) technology.
Nonetheless, many European components were shipped via China or Hong Kong before reaching Moscow.
