Sanctions are having a greater impact on russian drones than on missiles

Vladislav Vlasyuk, the President’s Representative on Sanctions Policy, spoke about this in a comment to LIGA.net.

For example, the Kh-101 missile contains, on average, around 100 components of foreign origin – this is precisely the number of foreign parts found in the missile used to strike Kyiv and the surrounding region on the night of 14 May.

According to Vlasyuk, such components can be supplied to russia either separately or as part of ready-made assemblies. 

At the same time, missiles are significantly more complex products than drones, so it is harder to change their component base quickly. Furthermore, manufacturers can use accumulated stocks of electronics to produce specific types of missiles.

“That is precisely why the effects of sanctions and supply restrictions usually have a faster impact on drones, whose production cycle is shorter and more flexible,” says the official.

The figures cited regarding the proportion of foreign components in russian weapons, Vlasyuk adds, should not always be taken as an accurate reflection of the current availability or absence of specific Western microchips, capacitors and the like. This is because the analysis is based on surviving debris – some, or even most, of the components may have been lost after the missile was hit or crashed.

“Although, admittedly, there are also positive cases where, thanks to coordinated efforts between Ukraine and its partners, it has been possible to halt or significantly restrict the supply of certain components to the russian military machine,” the representative added.

Source: LIGA.net