Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that British microcomputers were among more than 100,000 foreign-made parts in Russian missiles and drones that were used in Sunday’s deadly strikes on Ukraine.
BBC quoted Zelenskyy calling for further “effective” sanctions after saying parts originating in allied countries including Germany, Japan and the US have been identified in Russian weapons.
He further said that it was “crucial to shut down every scheme that circumvents sanctions”, and said countries which support Ukraine “already possess the detailed data on each company and each product” still being used by Russia.
The President added that the components originating in China, Taiwan and the Netherlands have also been identified in Russian
weapons.
His remarks came in response to the strikes by Russia on Sunday that killed four members of a family, including a 15-year-old girl, in village of Lapaivka. Russia had launched 549 missiles and drones overnight, primarily against the western region of Lviv, BBC reported.
Following this, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said it has launched a crackdown on UK firms whose products were found to have been used in Russia’s military supply chain.
“We take reports of goods from UK companies being found in Russian weaponry incredibly seriously,” a government spokesperson said.
BBC quoted the spokesperson as saying that the government had “banned the export of thousands of goods to Russia including every battlefield item Ukraine has brought to our attention,” adding that they have imposed “the most severe package of sanctions”.
According to the ban, any person or firm found to be violating the sanctions could face “large financial penalties or criminal prosecution”.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the country has become the most-sanctioned nation in the world, BBC reported.
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