New foreign components have again been found in Russian drones – Vlasiuk

Despite sanctions imposed on Russia, new Western-made parts produced in 2025 continue to be discovered in drones used by Russia to attack Ukraine, indicating sanction evasion and the need to strengthen pressure.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, stated this in a comment to Ukrinform.

He noted that in recent days Russia has not reduced the intensity of its attacks on Ukrainian cities, with strikes on Odesa, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Ternopil, and Kharkiv. Shahed drones are being widely used, and in Kharkiv, V2U-type drones are also being deployed.

"Notably, in the drones that attacked Ukraine last week, we are again finding new, fresh components from 2025 manufactured in Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the USA, as well as Taiwan and the United Kingdom," the official emphasized.

According to him, a new element — a Transit Brd activation module — was identified for the first time.

The Presidential advisor assured that all data on these components has already been shared with international partners.

He also said Ukraine continues to find components from STMielectronics (Switzerland), despite calls to monitor where their products are sold.

Read also: Presidential Office calls for secondary sanctions on buyers of stolen Ukrainian grain

Vlasiuk stressed that Russia continues to access Western technologies despite restrictions, which is why sanctions pressure must be continuously strengthened to close supply channels.

At the same time, he noted progress: in new drone models, components from the Netherlands are almost no longer seen, which he said proves that coordinated work with partners is effective in blocking access to critical technologies.

He added that Ukraine continues to expand so-called long-range sanctions, which, according to estimates, have already cost Russia at least $7 billion this year.

Ukraine is also working on identifying critical equipment for oil refineries and pumping stations in order to restrict its export to Russia, aiming to weaken the energy infrastructure that finances the war.

"The approach is simple: cut off access to technologies used in warfare and simultaneously reduce the resources that fund it," he said.

As Ukrinform previously reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that since the beginning of the year Russia has lost at least $7 billion due to Ukraine's targeted sanctions against its oil industry and refining sector.