In October, Russia launched more than 2,000 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the 2nd of November.
He simultaneously called on Western allies to impose more sanctions against suppliers of components used in Russian drones.
Russia continues to evade sanctions by using networks and front companies. Russia has also been aided in evading sanctions by its allies, including China, Iran and North Korea, the Kiev Independent reports.
"This volume of Shahed drones means over 170,000 components that had to be blocked from reaching Russia," Zelensky said in his evening address.
"Microchips, microcontrollers, processors and many other parts are essential to carry out this terror. They are all supplied to Russia from abroad, unfortunately by companies in China, Europe and America - many small but significant contributions to the ongoing terror in Russia," Zelensky added.
His comments come as Russia carried out a massive drone attack in Kiev on November 2 that set fire to a 16-story apartment building and an office building and left an 82-year-old woman with shrapnel injuries to her head.
During his evening address, Zelensky called for sanctions against companies that supply components to Russia to become broader and more effective.
"Such schemes also allow Russia to help strengthen regimes in Iran and North Korea. This is a global threat and it can only be overcome through global, coordinated pressure," the Ukrainian president said.
Zelensky's comments come a few days after the United States on October 30 imposed sanctions on nearly 400 entities and individuals directly or indirectly involved in supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine.
According to the US Treasury Department, the restrictions apply to companies involved in sanctions-avoidance networks in 17 jurisdictions, including China, India, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Thailand and Turkey.
On November 1, the US fined GlobalFoundries $500,000 for supplying chips without authorization to an affiliate of sanctioned Chinese chipmaker SMIC, Reuters reported.
Since the fall of 2022, Russia has launched tens of thousands of cheap but effective Iranian-designed Shahed drones against Ukraine.
On October 20, Zelensky said that a total of 6,130 Shahed-type drones have been launched since the beginning of 2024 - although this number does not account for the hundreds of drones launched in the past two weeks.
In recent months, Russia has stepped up its drone attacks targeting cities and towns in Ukraine on an almost daily basis since early September. | BGNES