Western-made microprocessors and semiconductors are found in these Shahed-136 kamikaze drones.
A “Main Weapon” Some elements of the Russian invasion of Ukraine actually came from the West. Components manufactured by 18 companies based in the US, Germany and Japan have been found in Shahed-136 drones used by Russian forces in Ukraine. This is a decision A new report by the NGO International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) Independent Commission Against Corruption in Ukraine (NECO), Truth Hounds, which investigates war crimes in Ukraine, and law firm Global Diligence.
Microprocessors or semiconductors of Western origin were found in the Shahed-136 drones shot down in Odessa and Cherkasy last year. These kamikaze drones of Iranian origin are widely used by Russia in the conflict. In May, more than 300 devices were used to attack different targets in the country British Ministry of Defence. “The elements we identified in our report are essential to the Russian war effort.” Simon Babuvashvili, director of the IPHR’s program for investigating war crimes, points out. “Without these components, Russia and its allies will not be able to develop the sophisticated weapons systems critical to this war.”
More than 30 western elements were discovered
According to NEGO’s analysis of the two drones shot down in Odessa and Cherkasy, “Type of components [occidentaux] What is seen inside the Shahed-136 varies, but it is clear that they make a real and substantial contribution to their overall capability.”
Many of the devices shot down in Ukraine were found to contain components from no fewer than 15 American companies, such as Texas Instruments or Analog Devices. These include microprocessors, semiconductors and flash memory. All four components, including integrated circuits manufactured by a Japanese company, were found, as were components from a Canadian company, a German company (based in the US), and a Swiss company. In total, the report cited 34 Western components found in the Shahed drones examined.
A number of relevant companies have responded to this survey. “Marvel is appalled that any of its products are being used in Russian weapons. Marvel does not sell to the Russian military or government. (…) We don’t know how these parts ended up in Russia,” Marvel reacts to technology. “TI does not sell any products in Russia, Belarus or Iran”, Texas also insures instruments.
“Ignorance is not a valid moral or legal defense”, Simon Pappuvashvili responds. “Civil society investigators can analyze Identify supply chains and suspected intermediaries, who often supply directly to the Russian Ministry of Defense or FSB”. To IPHR’s Program Director, if these investigators are able to do so, “Big business certainly has the resources to maintain better oversight (…) to avoid direct or indirect complicity in serious human rights abuses.
Drones used in apparent war crimes
Russian forces have reportedly used more than a thousand “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” To target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine between September 2022 and May 2023, including critical energy infrastructure.
A study by IPHR and its partners found that 15 people were killed and 42 injured in drone strikes in Ukraine. Even these attacks “Destroyed or damaged nine critical infrastructures, 13 civilian homes and four civilian infrastructures”. The investigation specifically cites the Shahed-136 drone strike Ladygin in October 2022 damaged a thermal power plant and left 18,000 citizens without heat for two months last winter. Another detailed fact: drone attacks on a school and two shelters in Rzhyshchiv, Kyiv region, killing 9 and injuring 29.
Targeting these infrastructures and the public, these realities “may constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes”, Point to the statement.
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