For many, doing business with the No1 enemy of the West is too profitable to be sanctioned. Europe can do very little to enforce its collective will. Its sporadic victories against Apple or Facebook and its “smart” red tape cannot hide its impotency.
The European Union (EU) is considering exposing over a dozen Chinese companies allegedly supplying crucial technology to support Russia’s military, a move discussed during the recent EU summit. However, a scrutiny of Western companies producing dual-use and advanced equipment, subject to sanctions, reveals their role in Russian weaponry, including Kalibr missiles and Orlan drones. The Kyiv School of Economics identifies Intel as the leading supplier of “high-priority battlefield items” to Russia, followed by Huawei, Analog Devices, AMD, Texas Instruments, and IBM, all American firms. While global sanctions initially impacted Russia, it has managed to reconfigure supply chains with assistance from China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, and of course NATO member Turkey (here is a recent Targetnews story about the two-faced diplomacy of Turkey).
The EU’s attempt to implement a 12th package of sanctions against Russia prompts questions about the effectiveness of repeated actions. Elina Ribakova of the KSE Institute urges holding the Western private sector accountable, proposing the tracking of products through the entire value chain. Notably, Russia’s imports of sanctioned items have nearly recovered to pre-war levels. The EU’s collective sanctions approach faces challenges in enforcement, with individual member countries exhibiting varying levels of commitment, potentially undermining the overall impact. Despite ongoing evidence of breaches, few sanctions cases are pursued by European law enforcement, highlighting a gap in accountability for Western businesses supporting Russia’s military capabilities.
