Russian defence industry faces long-term damage from US sanctions
Russian military modernisation efforts may be harmed by sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. (Photo: Russian MoD)
It may take time, but US-imposed sanctions will prevent Russia from accessing certain essential components such as microelectronics and chips. They will also affect the capacity of Russian industry to produce cutting-edge defence systems and hinder efforts by Moscow to match the technological trajectories of the West and China.
US sanctions on Russia, announced by president Joe Biden on 24 February after the invasion of Ukraine began, are expected to have a long-term effect on the Russian defence industry.
Measures introduced by the US will prevent Russian manufacturers from accessing essential components such as microelectronics and chips — known areas of weakness in the Russian aerospace and defence industries. No longer will conglomerates such as Rostec be able to use COTS microchips made by the likes of Intel and AMD for industrial processes.
The US sanctions were followed by an announcement on 27 February by the Taiwanese firm TSMC — the largest semiconductor
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