Western officials believe that Russia has diverted at least $1 billion worth of sensitive exports that were supposed to be in transit to Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The goods, which include medical equipment, electronics, and construction materials, were shipped through Russia but never arrived at their destination.
Public data analysed by the Financial Times found that only about half of a $2bn sample of controlled “dual use” items (that is, things like aircraft parts which have civilian as well as military applications), shipped from the EU actually reached their stated destinations in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. A disproportionate share of the exports left the EU from Baltic countries bordering Russia and Belarus. The mismatch in records suggests Russia has sidestepped sweeping sanctions using middlemen, agents or suppliers who put fake destinations on EU customs declarations, enabling Moscow to seize the products en route and helping to sustain Vladimir Putin’s wartime economy.
A new package of sanctions is aimed at preventing dual use goods from being shipped via any part of the Russian Federation.
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