Ukrainian officials announced on 9/9 that they had examined the debris of a Russian missile that hit a government building in central Kyiv two days prior. They discovered dozens of electronic components manufactured by US companies and their allies.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, a special envoy of the Ukrainian president, said the Russian Iskander-K cruise missile hit the building but did not explode because it had been damaged by air defenses. He released photos of the missile fragments and a list of internal components, including 35 from US companies like Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, and Altera, along with others from Japan, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

Ukrainian investigators also identified 57 Russian-made components and 5 from Belarus.

Devices inside the warhead of the Russian missile that fell on Kyiv on 7/9. Photo: GUR

Devices inside the warhead of the Russian missile that fell on Kyiv on 7/9. Photo: GUR

Some components were manufactured years ago, but others were produced after the conflict began in 2/2022. Vlasiuk said the analysis suggests the proportion of western components in Russian missiles has decreased, gradually replaced by parts made in Russia and Belarus.

Most of the components found are dual-use, meaning they can be used in both civilian equipment and military hardware. "We have shared the findings with our allies to consider appropriate actions," the Ukrainian official said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not commented on the information.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, western nations have imposed numerous financial and trade sanctions on Russia, while tightening export regulations on electronics and semiconductors to prevent Moscow from manufacturing advanced weapons.

Western companies, including Germany's Infineon Technologies, claim to have halted all direct and indirect shipments to Russia and implemented strict customer controls. However, an Infineon Technologies spokesperson acknowledged the difficulty of monitoring all chip distribution, with an output of 30 billion chips annually.

Texas Instruments, a leading US semiconductor company, also stated it stopped sales to Russia and Belarus in 2/2022, emphasizing that any of its products appearing in those countries are there illegally.

The US Senate investigative committee previously warned that American components continue to appear in Russian weapons due to networks of intermediary countries.

Debris from the Russian missile recovered in Kyiv after the 7/9 attack. Photo: GUR

Debris from the Russian missile recovered in Kyiv after the 7/9 attack. Photo: GUR

Russia's 7/9 attack was considered its largest to date, occurring after 26 European countries pledged security guarantees to Ukraine for the post-war period.

The Ukrainian Air Force Command reported that Russia launched 810 suicide drones and decoy aircraft, 9 Iskander-K cruise missiles, and 4 Iskander-M ballistic missiles in the morning attack on 7/9. "Air defense units shot down or jammed 747 drones and 4 Iskander-K missiles. 9 missiles and 54 drones hit 33 locations, with debris also falling in 8 areas," the statement said.

Ukrainian officials also accused Russia of targeting a government building in the Pechersky district, the heart of Kyiv.

The Russian Ministry of Defense later denied this, claiming they did not target any sites within Kyiv. They stated their strikes focused on long-range drone assembly and deployment facilities, the Kiev-67 industrial plant in the western suburbs, the STS-Group logistics base in southern Kyiv, and military airfields in central, southern, and eastern Ukraine.

Thanh Danh (CNN, Kyiv Independent, TVP)