The President of Ukraine’s Representative for Sanctions Policy spoke about the foreign components in ‘Shahids’

Vladislav Vlasyuk, the President’s Representative on Sanctions Policy, spoke to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty about the findings.

In particular, for the first time in a long while, no components from the Dutch company NXP were found in Shahed-type drones. According to Vlasyuk, this may indicate that international pressure on the supply of critical technologies to the russian military-industrial complex is having an effect.

“It is too early to draw definitive conclusions, but there are grounds for cautious optimism. I am not claiming that these components were always present in the Shaheds. But there is a possibility that russia may have stopped receiving components from the Netherlands, and that would be a very good result of our joint efforts,” he added.

According to him, such a change could be the result of systematic work with governments and manufacturers.

At the same time, analysis has shown that foreign technologies are still being used extensively in russian weapons. In particular, American components dating from late 2025 were found in drones. Furthermore, microchips from the Swiss company STMicroelectronics are being found in drones.

“It’s not even funny anymore. In particular, regarding Switzerland, because it’s a never-ending game of ping-pong between the Swiss and Italian governments, with each side claiming, ‘It’s not us, it’s not here; we only have the headquarters (main office – ed.), and production isn’t here, it’s actually in China.’ We will continue to communicate. As for China, incidentally, we saw more Chinese components; we saw the circuit boards themselves, printed in March 2026, which is also an interesting indicator. That date – March 2026 – these drones are already in use, which is quite interesting,” says the official.

Among the unpleasant findings, according to Vlasyuk, was that quite a number of new Japanese components were found in the drones. This information has been passed on to partners; Kyiv plans to “encourage measures to ensure they do not end up in the russian federation”.

The Commissioner explained that Ukraine has been systematically working for around three years to block the supply of critical components.

Communication takes place in several formats:

between governments;

through governments with manufacturers;

through the media and public pressure.

“This year we have provided dozens, if not hundreds, of serial numbers for specific components, which significantly simplifies internal investigations for the companies themselves. Where there is a serious approach to the problem, there will be results. Where there isn’t – other consequences are possible,” he said.

One of the new tools of pressure could be legal action against component manufacturers. Vlasyuk said that American lawyers are currently looking for people in Ukraine who have been injured by weapons in which components from these companies were used:

“Given the peculiarities of the American legal system, this could theoretically lead to multi-million-dollar court rulings that the relevant manufacturers would have to comply with.”

The supply of components from China remains a separate issue. According to Vlasyuk, many Chinese companies are already on the sanctions lists of Ukraine, the US, the EU and the UK. However, sanctions do not always work effectively. Ukraine regularly passes on information about such components to the Chinese side.

“Just this week we handed over a new batch of data – everything we’ve managed to record this year,” he added.

Another worrying sign, according to Vlasyuk, is the reverse exchange of technology between russia and Iran – whereas in 2022–2023 Iran supplied drones to russia, the situation has now reversed.

Source: Radio Liberty