How Western Tech Fueling Russia’s Weapon: AMERICAN GOVERNMENT IS SUPPORTING RUSSIA’S WAR? #russiawar

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT IS SUPPORTING RUSSIA’S MILITARY ??

#russiaukrainewar #militarytechnology
In this investigative report, we delve into the intricate web of microchip smuggling that fuels the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Despite sanctions intended to restrict the flow of Western technology, Russian missiles and drones continue to be armed with components sourced from American companies. Join us as we uncover the shadowy network of shell companies, middleman countries, and convoluted shipping routes used to evade sanctions and supply the Russian military. Explore the complexities of modern warfare and the challenges faced in regulating the global arms trade.

04:15 – Putin’s Missiles
06:01 – Russia Should Exhaust
08:28 – Dark Market
17:40 – Conclusion

Let me take a moment to present to you this  missile, for it holds profound lessons. This   is a Russian missile, adorned with wings,  capable of traversing vast distances.   These missiles have become synonymous  with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine,   deployed with devastating effect upon  railway stations and electric grids.

They fire them at Railway stations and  electric grids and whenever something   like this happens. investigators rush  to the scene not only to recover the   casualties to rush people to the hospital  but also to sift through this debris. all this mangled metal and material, this  missile debris contains important Clues.

Zoom in closer, and you’ll behold a  remarkable sight: nestled within this   missile lies a component bearing the emblem of  a company known as VICOR, an American company. Throughout this harrowing conflict,  investigators have delved deep into   this debris, seeking to unravel the  enigma of Russia’s missile production:  

What ingredients fuel their weaponry,  and whence do they originate? Indeed, without the contributions of Western  technology, Russia wouldn’t be able to build   missiles and it’s not just one power converter  from VICOR. this missile is packed with   microelectronics the key most sophisticated  parts of the missile that come from the West.

Consider, if you will, the communication  controller, made by ZILOG, another   illustrious American company. Or the guidance  system, powered by three microprocessors,   all three made by the American company  Texas Instruments and then of course the   brains of the whole thing the microchips,  they’re made by Intel the American chip  

Giant that is currently being subsidized  by the US government to make more chips. Investigative efforts by the Ukrainian government,  the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI),   and others have revealed a startling truth:  Russia’s weaponry relies heavily upon 450   Western-made components, the majority  of which hail from the United States.   These are indispensable elements, beyond  Russia’s ability to produce independently.

(we know that the Russian systems from  their most basic systems to their most   sophisticated systems are critically  dependent on Western microelectronics) Ukraine, recognizing this stark reality,  endeavors to fortify its defenses with   Western air defense systems, thereby intercepting  missiles made possible by Western microchips.

In our investigation, we delved into how Western  technology finds its way into Russian weapons,   sneaking through a shadowy network  of shell companies, fake identities,   and convoluted shipping routes, all aimed  at dodging sanctions and landing in front   companies for the Russian military. Much of this illicit tech eventually  

Ends up in missiles, drones, and other  deadly weapons used to invade Ukraine   and claim lives. It’s a clear example of  modern warfare, where computer technology   meant for peaceful purposes is weaponized and  funneled through the complex global economy. We aim to shed light on this issue and  explore possible solutions. Now, we’re  

Diving to unpack this thing that has been like  deep on our minds for several months now which   is the shadowy smuggling Market that is getting  American and Western Tech into Russia, get ready. [Putin’s Missiles] Now, let’s talk about   Putin’s missiles. Since the full-scale invasion  of Ukraine in February 2022, Vladimir Putin’s  

Forces have unleashed over 5,000 cruise missiles  on Ukraine. what happened is Russia wasn’t able   to conquer Ukraine in the first month or two, in  October 2022 Russia came up with this new tactic.   it will use missiles to destroy Ukraine’s energy  infrastructure and kill Ukraine’s economy and  

Force people to negotiate. these missiles have  killed thousands of civilians. they’ve leveled   homes and communities and they’ve destroyed  the economy and daily life of many ukrainians. so in response to this Invasion, the West not  only provided weapons and aid to Ukraine but  

Also attempted to cut Russia off from  the global economy, including crucial   microelectronics that they need to build  their missiles to build their weapon systems. this is what sanctions do it makes it illegal  for a company like Texas instrument or Intel  

To sell their microchips to Russia, again  Russia can’t make this stuff on their own   so the idea was that if you could cut Putin off  of the chips, then he would eventually run out   of the ingredients he needed to continue  to make missiles and other weapon systems  

That he was using in Ukraine. at least  that’s what they thought would happen. Russia has been able to produce more missiles  in 2023 than was able to produce in 2022. [they should exhaust] Russia didn’t exhaust its arsenal;   instead, the missiles continued to soar,  and drones persisted in their onslaught.

(well tonight a third of Ukraine is without power   after Russia destroyed power  stations in the last 8 days) To uncover the truth behind these attacks,   Ukrainian investigators have been  Gathering remnants of Russian weaponry,   bringing them to missile graveyards such as the  one provided access by the Kyiv Independent team.

Within these graveyards, investigators  meticulously dissect the wreckage,   and look inside to understand how  these Russian weapons work to try   to gain an advantage in this war,  but what they found was surprising. They uncovered a startling revelation:  components sourced from American companies   like Texas Instruments and Analog Devices were  consistently present. Despite economic sanctions  

Intended to sever the flow, investigators  encountered the same scenario repeatedly:   USA and Western technology clandestinely making  its way into Russian missiles and drones. These chips are indispensable  for critical functions such   as guidance systems, wireless communication,   and targeting—components that Russia lacks  the capability to produce independently.

The question arises: How does the Russian  military manage to obtain Western microelectronics   despite sanctions that explicitly prohibit such  transactions? The answer lies within this map. [dark market] This map offers a   glimpse into a clandestine network—a dark market  employed by Russia to keep vital technology  

Secretly flowing into Russian weapons. this Tech  travels through the veins of the global economy   using loopholes shell companies and convoluted  shipping routes to escape these sanctions. It’s crucial to understand that this  map represents only a fraction of the   entire network—a dark market that eludes  easy detection and reporting. However,  

Through the remarkable investigative  efforts of organizations such as Reuters,   RUSI, the Kiv Independent, the  Financial Times, and others,   we’ve managed to piece together a clearer picture  of how Russia gets its hands on these microchips. Let’s begin our investigation in New York  City, where two companies operating as  

Electronic components distributors were  registered in Brooklyn. Interestingly,   both entities were owned by the same trio  of individuals who operated under aliases   like Nick Stevens or Geo Ross. These companies  have been shipping millions of dollars worth   of electronics from various locations in  New York to several middleman countries.  

Countries that have no rules about sending  stuff to Russia, from there this technology   was then shipped into Russia to a company  that makes weapons for the Russian military. when these guys got busted, investigators  found that the specific microchips that they   were shipping into Russia were  the specific chips that Russia  

Uses for various weapon platforms that  they’re using in their war in Ukraine. in another intriguing case, a Singapore-based  company starts buying American microchips from   the US and selling $250,000 worth of chips  to a company inside of Russia who seemingly  

Has nothing to do with the Russian government.  that company then sold them to another Russian   company called Robin trade, but it turns  out that Robin trade is just one of many   fake companies that sells to yet another  fake company called Serniya Engineering,  

That we now know is actually just a front  for the Russian spy agency, the FSB. this convoluted daisy chain of like fake  companies is used to hide the fact that the FSB,   the Russian intelligence agency  is procuring chips through this  

Network. to make it look like this was some  civilian tech company importing these chips. one of the greatest Tools in this  network is the shell company. the   fact that in our global economy you can  make a company by signing a few papers and  

Paying a fee and then you can start doing  business under the name of that company. like there was this one a German computer  parts company, previously engaged in selling   technology to Russia, found itself barred from  such transactions following Putin’s invasion and  

Subsequent EU sanctions. so the German company  starts selling chips to this shell company in   Turkey which immediately turns around and sells  them right to Russia. custom records show that   in just 7 months this new Turkish company  sent $20 million worth of computer parts  

To Russia. including us-made microchips and  the missiles just kept on bombing the city. (Ukraine says Russia has fired at  least 80 missiles at Targets across   the country as part of an overnight bombardment) It’s fascinating to observe how many of  these middlemen countries are facilitating  

The trafficking of chips to evade sanctions,  and this has given a lot of attention to to a   bunch of random countries that were never  a part of this technology trade before. Take, for instance, the Maldives this island  nation that is much more known for like  

Instagrammable vacation photos they had no real  semiconductor microchip industry before this. and yet right after Putin’s  Invasion the Maldives started   seeing ships arrive with hundreds of  thousands of microchips, arriving at   their ports only to immediately  turn around and head for Russia.

But when they pull into the port they do  have to register with the custom agents   and so we have Customs records which shows  us where this stuff is coming from. these   records show us that a lot of these chips are  coming from a company registered in Hong Kong,  

But who was owned by a company  in Singapore. Interestingly,   this Singaporean entity is, in turn, owned by  a company registered in the Seychelles Islands. Adding to the intrigue is the revelation  that the Hong Kong-based company,   uncovered by a Reuters journalist, operates  from an empty office adorned with numerous  

Boxes. What’s more, this company boasts  only one officer—a Spanish citizen who   happens to own an airplane club  in Catalonia. yet, somehow this  company is responsible for over $200 million  of electronics being sent to Russia including   $50,000 of Intel and AMD microchips and as we  saw much of it flowing through the Maldives.

Absolutely, the intricate workings of this  scheme become evident. While it may be legal   for individuals to dispatch microchips from the  United States to Russia, the presence of shell   companies operating within intermediary  nations not subject to sanctions provides   a convenient loophole. This allows for the  circumvention of regulations with relative ease.

Do you grasp the mechanism at play here? it  is legal for someone to send microchips from   the United States of America to Russia but  when you have shell companies in middlemen   countries that are not a part of the sanctions  you can kind of get around that pretty easily.

In China, there’s a company named King Pai  Technology employing a similar tactic. They   procure Western microchips from companies in  countries like India, subsequently selling them   to Russian entities known for conducting business  with the Russian military. When the United States   government caught wind of this operation,  they took action, placing King Pai Technology  

On the sanctions list, prohibiting American  companies from supplying them with microchips. However, King Pai Technology found a way  around this setback. They’ve established a   network of shell companies, primarily owned by  individuals named Yao Jinbiao and Yao Zehong.   Despite crackdowns on their operations, they  continue to funnel Western microchips to the  

Russian military under different aliases. Even if  one of their shell companies faces repercussions,   they simply shift operations to another entity,  ensuring continuity of their illicit activities. It’s a constant game of cat and mouse—today  you’re King Pai Technology, tomorrow you’re   3HC Semiconductor. Enforcers find themselves  trapped in a relentless cycle of crackdowns and  

Reemergence. Shell companies are easily disposable  entities, mere pieces of paper, making enforcement   a tedious, complex, and slow process. Furthermore,  middleman countries such as the Maldives often   lack the incentive to address these issues.  For them, increased traffic through their   ports translates to economic benefits, with little  regard for the illicit nature of the transactions.

Consider Russia’s neighbor Kazakhstan, where  Imports of microchips mysteriously doubled after   Russia’s fullscale Invasion. Smugglers exploit  such nations as conduits, as seen with a Dutch   individual using Kazakhstan to ship microchips to  Russia under the guise of a different destination. The situation becomes even more  blatant in countries like Kyrgyzstan,  

Virtually unknown to many, who saw a  huge increase in the their imports from   Germany after all these sanctions went into  place. almost a 1,000% increase which like   they’re not complaining this just means more  activity of imports from other countries even  

Though we all kind of know that they’re just a  middleman for smuggling stuff into Russia now. [conclusion] So, that’s the crux of the matter. Despite   the sanctions intended to prevent it, Russia  continues to acquire Western-made microchips,   fueling their war machine. government was  a plea for help. it was a sounding of the  

Alarm Bells it was given to Western diplomats  at a summit to basically say hey guys thanks   for all the money that you’re giving to us the  weapons the anti-missile and anti-air defenses. but you’re also giving technology to  our enemy those drones and missiles that  

We’re shooting down with your defenses  they also have your technology in them. In essence, the United States finds itself in  the paradoxical position of providing weapons   to defend Ukraine from threats enabled by  technology sourced from American companies. However, if we manage to break this chain,  

Ukraine’s dependency on support from the  United States would decrease. Essentially,   the United States currently finds itself in  the peculiar situation of supplying weapons   to defend Ukraine against threats facilitated  by technology sourced from American companies. there isn’t any immediate solution  but what we can do is we can just  

Gut up their supply chains we can arrest their  Intelligence Officers, we can introduce crap   into their supply chain,we can just make  it longer more difficult more expensive. This story serves as a valuable lesson  in understanding the evolution of warfare   in our modern era. It sheds light on how  large-scale conflicts operate in today’s  

World, highlighting the crucial role  that seemingly insignificant silicon   chips play in modern warfare. Moreover,  it underscores the belief held by those   who manufacture these chips that they are  the gatekeepers, capable of controlling   access to this essential technology and  thereby influencing global dynamics.

What we’re witnessing is that, despite efforts  by the US and its allies to regulate the   distribution of microchips, they struggle to do  so comprehensively. The intricate nature of the   global economy presents significant challenges,  making it exceedingly difficult to fully control  

The flow of these vital components. and yet  that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t keep trying. Indeed, when we discuss safeguarding the lives  of civilians, we confront a challenge that is   both daunting and yet within our capacity to  address. While it’s undeniably complex, it remains  

A problem with solutions within reach. What  resonates with me is the realization that taking   action, even on an individual level, can make  a tangible difference in saving innocent lives. We earnestly hope that individuals, whether  in the United States, Europe, or elsewhere,  

Share this sentiment—that the protection  of innocent lives is a cause worth pursuing   wholeheartedly. It’s a shared responsibility,  and by collectively acknowledging the value of   every human life, we can work towards creating  a safer and more compassionate world for all. thank you for watching