Japan’s Economy Ministry has uncovered a sanctions-evasion scheme in which high-precision manufacturing equipment was sold to Russia via Chinese companies, Ukrainian sanctions coordinator Vladyslav Vlasiuk said on Aug. 14.
Russian defense manufacturers rely heavily on foreign components from U.S., European, and Asian producers, which they acquire through a network of Chinese and Hong Kong suppliers to circumvent Western restrictions.
In July, President Volodymyr Zelensky sanctioned five Chinese firms for supplying components used in Russian Shahed-type drones that have been used to attack Ukraine.
Japanese authorities launched an investigation earlier this year after Ukraine warned that Russian forces were using Japanese-made machine tools, the Economy Ministry said.
The probe found that over 300 precision machine tools produced by Japan’s Tsugami Corp. had gone missing after being sold to seven Chinese companies. The equipment is critical for manufacturing weapons components.
Approximately 30 units have already been traced to Russian territory, according to Vlasiuk, Ukraine’s sanctions сommissioner.
[…]