Sanctions Envoy: Dutch Parts Gone From Russian Shaheds, Others Still Slip Through

Kyiv said there are signs sanctions are taking effect, as Dutch components are disappearing from Russian drones, though new US, Chinese, and Japanese parts continue to surface. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Dmytro Chubenko (back), spokesperson of the Kharkiv prosecutor, and his assistant cover a Russian Shahed drone shot down by Ukraine’s air defense forces in a field used for the storage of Russian missiles in Kharkiv, on April 30, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Ivan SAMOILOV / AFP) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google Ukraine is seeing early signs that sanctions are disrupting Russia ’s access to some Western technology used in its weapons – but key supply channels remain open, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday. Speaking to journalists during a closed-door briefing on Friday, April 10, Vladyslav Vlasyuk, the presidential representative on sanctions policy, said recent analysis of Russian Shahed drones suggests “cautious progress” in cutting off critical foreign components. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . According to Vlasyuk, a new study of Shaheds used in strikes on western Ukraine on the Day of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) found no components from the Dutch company NXP. “We did not see Dutch components [NXP] there. I have such a restrained optimism for now that, perhaps, Russia has stopped receiving components from the Netherlands, which would be a very good result of our joint efforts,” he said. At the same time, the drones still contained recently manufactured Western parts. “We traditionally see the Swiss STMicroelectronics from the end of 2025 there… This is an eternal ping-pong between the Swiss and Italian governments, that it’s not us, we only have the headquarters, and the production is not ours, then it’s China in general. We will continue to communicate,” Vlasyuk said. He added that US components produced as recently as late 2025 were also identified. Ukraine has also recorded a growing number of Chinese-made parts, including circuit boards manufactured as recently as March 2026. Other Topics of Interest Kremlin Prepares for Orbán Defeat, Plans to Spin Loss as EU Plot Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is expected to be told that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his team themselves are to blame. “Unfortunately, we saw quite a lot of fresh Japanese components. We have passed on the information to all partners. We will encourage the relevant components not to end up in Russia,” Vlasyuk said. According to him, Ukraine began systematically tracking foreign components in Russian weapons three years ago, compiling shortlists of key manufacturers and engaging directly with both governments and companies, while also applying public and media pressure. “There are reasons to believe that this is yielding results. For example, the absence of components from Dutch companies in the aforementioned Shaheds no longer looks accidental,” he said. However, Vlasyuk expressed frustration over some manufacturers’ lack of response, contrasting them with companies that have taken compliance seriously. He noted that Ukraine has provided “dozens, if not hundreds” of serial numbers of specific components to help firms investigate supply chain leaks. “Where there is a serious attitude, there will be a result,” he said. Vlasyuk also said Kyiv is exploring potential legal action against some US manufacturers. “So far, it’s just an idea: American lawyers are looking for victims in Ukraine who were injured by weapons that used components from these companies, and are considering filing lawsuits,” he said. It is unclear if Vlasyuk referred to the five US civil lawsuits launched in December 2025 against major US chipmakers Intel, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Texas Instruments and Mouser Electronics, over their alleged failure to prevent their microchips from being deployed in Russian missiles and drones targeting Ukrainian cities. He added that while the process could be lengthy, it may ultimately result in multimillion-dollar rulings in favor of victims under the US legal system. Chinese companies, meanwhile, are regularly added to sanctions lists in Ukraine, the US, the EU and the UK. However, Vlasyuk said the impact is weak. “This partly deters them, especially in the energy sector, but it works much weaker in the military-industrial complex,” he said. He added that the industry’s structure allows sanctioned suppliers to continue operating. “A company can have a hundred servo drive manufacturers: 90 of them work for the global market, and 10 continue to trade with Russia and fall under sanctions. This limits their access to part of the international markets, but does not block cooperation with Russia in the direction that they continue,” Vlasyuk said. However, Ukraine continues to share detailed data with partners, including a new package sent this week covering all components identified so far this year. H2: Reverse Russia-Iran exchange Vlasyuk also warned of a growing two-way flow of military technology between Russia and Iran. While Iran supplied Shahed drones to Russia in 2022-23, Ukraine is now seeing evidence of Russian technology appearing in Iranian weapons. “There are cases when Russian weapons are used by the Iranian army, or when Russian components, in particular guidance systems, appear in Iranian weapons this year,” he said. “Therefore, this is an active process of exchange and interaction, and this, in my opinion, is a big signal for the whole world.” According to Vlasyuk, authoritarian regimes inevitably collaborate. “It is impossible to simply deal with Russia and believe that Iran will become less of a problem,” Vlasyuk said, warning that the proliferation of drone technologies could reshape global security perceptions. Vlasyuk also called on countries ignoring supplies to Russia’s defense sector to reconsider. “I am especially referring to the United Arab Emirates now,” he added. He said that Russian electronics have already been identified in Iranian drones intercepted in Cyprus, including Comet antennas. Ukraine is continuing efforts to gather more data on components used in Iranian weapons across the Middle East, including in Iraq, Qatar and Bahrain. “I think that we will see both Russian and American components there – and this will be especially interesting,” Vlasyuk said. He recalled that even so-called “clean” Iranian drones used by Russia earlier in the war already contained US components. “And I don’t think that this could have changed in the last two years. And Russian components – it is obvious that they are also present in Iranian drones,” he said. Julia is a Deputy Head of News and correspondent for Kyiv Post who has previously worked as a parliamentary editor, journalist, and news editor. She has specialized in covering the work of the Ukrainian parliament, government, and law enforcement agencies.