Russian Geran-2 (Shahed) kamikaze drones are built largely from foreign-made components produced in both Western and Eastern countries, despite sweeping international sanctions on Moscow. That is the conclusion of an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
By examining the charred remains of downed Geran-2 drones, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has mapped the drone’s internal structure and identified many of its parts. While some findings have been published on the agency’s website, reporters obtained additional documents offering a more comprehensive view of the foreign components sustaining Russia’s winter bombing campaign.
Investigators identified hundreds of individual components inside the drones, only a few dozen of which appear to be of Russian origin. Many parts are manufactured by companies in the United States and China, and more than 100 components are produced by roughly 20 European firms. These include microchips, receivers, transistors, diodes, antennas, and fuel pumps.
Although the European Union prohibits the direct export of many such items to Russia, trade data from the Import Genius platform shows 672 shipments of sanctioned components made by European manufacturers entering Russia between January 2024 and March 2025. The shipments were sent by 178 intermediary companies, primarily based in China and Hong Kong.
There is no evidence that the European manufacturers named violated sanctions or knowingly facilitated the sales. However, the findings underscore the difficulty of enforcing the EU’s tightening sanctions regime and limiting Russia’s ability to produce drones using foreign technology.
Western chipmakers point to the complexity of global supply chains. Dutch semiconductor firm Nexperia, for example, appeared in nearly 300 shipments identified in the trade data. The company has condemned Russia’s invasion and insists it does not sell to Russia, even indirectly. A spokesperson said diversion can occur without a manufacturer’s knowledge, given the vast scale and global distribution of semiconductor products.
Sources: MILITARNYI; Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project