How has Russia been able to get hold of technology that they're not supposed to have to use against Ukraine when there are these big sanctions in place and everyone is watching? Well, they have done so in a lot of pretty creative ways. The thing that sanctions have not really been able to contend with is what happens when you have a country that's perfectly willing to ignore them but is basically too big to punish in any meaningful way,. China has been very willing to do business with Russia.
US sanctions against Russia are supposed to cut off Moscow’s access to all kinds of goods, including semiconductors, which are used in missiles and drones. But US officials allege a secret supply chain has illegally funneled these chips, some of them American-made, to Russia, where they’ve been used in weapons deployed against Ukraine.
Bloomberg reporter Ben Bartenstein joins this episode to talk about one alleged chip smuggling scheme. And US national security editor Nick Wadhams explains why sanctions can slow—but not always stop—Russia and other sanctioned nations from getting what they want.
Read more here: Web of Secret Chip Deals Allegedly Help US Tech Flow to Russia
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