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Brussels warned European companies and government agencies that the country could soon ban the sale of certain technological components to Turkey and other countries that allow Iran and Russia to source parts for drones and other weapons that have been used to attack Ukrainian cities.
The warning comes after a 47-page document was recently leaked detailing Ukraine’s use of Western technology as well as the country’s appeal for long-range missiles to attack drone production sites in Iran, Syria and Russia. According to The Guardian, the Ukrainian paper, which was submitted to G7 governments in August, claimed that 600 raids using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that were outfitted with Western technology had taken place in Ukrainian cities since June 2023.
Five European organizations, including a Polish subsidiary of an international British company, were named as original manufacturers of the specified components. The paper doesn’t suggest any wrongdoing by the Western companies whose parts were identified.
The paper also claimed that “almost all the imports to Iran originated from Turkey, India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Costa Rica.”
A spokesperson for the European Commission said that EU sanctions need tougher enforcement in order to stop these sourcing practices.
“This means keeping a close eye on foreign operators that are re-exporting EU-sanctioned goods without the knowledge of the EU exporter. For that scenario, we have sought the support of third countries’ authorities to make sure that goods exported from the EU to those countries do not reach Russia,” the spokesperson said. “The EU sanctions envoy, David O’Sullivan, is working closely with third-country jurisdictions to ensure that our sanctions are not circumvented.”
The spokesperson added that a “priority list of sanctioned battlefield goods” has been drawn up “to which businesses should apply particular due diligence and which third countries must not export to Russia.”
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