Ukraine increasingly finds Russian and Belarusian electronics in missiles

By Max Hunder

Ukraine is finding more and more Russian and Belarusian electronics in the wreckage of missiles fired at it by Moscow, a senior Ukrainian official said.

The remarks by Vladyslav Vlasiuk, commissioner for sanctions policy and an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, suggest Russia is increasingly able to replace smuggled Western components that it used to rely on in its war in Ukraine.

The West has sought to shut off Russia's access to advanced foreign components and chips in weapons used by Russia in Ukraine.

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CHIPS SO FAR 'OF POOR QUALITY'

Kyiv has often found Western electronics in Russian missiles and put pressure on manufacturers to tighten controls on their exports.

But Ukraine has increasingly been finding Russian and Belarusian circuit boards and computer chips in Iskander missiles, which have been used regularly by Russia since its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

"In the 2025 Iskander, compared to the 2022 Iskander, there are fewer European and U.S. (components), and more from Russia and Belarus," Vlasiuk told reporters this week.

The ballistic version of the Iskander missile is particularly difficult to intercept because it travels at several times the speed of sound. The cruise version of the missile travels more slowly.

The chips appear to be of lower quality than Western ones but they do not appear to affect the missiles' performance, Vlasiuk said.

"They have the ability to make chips which are of poor quality - so far. After some time, they will get better," he said.

Belarus does not take an active part in the war in Ukraine but is a close ally of Russia and allowed its territory to be used as a staging ground for Moscow's troops to launch their 2022 invasion.

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