Western sanctions force Russia to use low-quality components in military equipment

Western sanctions have led to massive disruptions in the operation of Russian Geran-2 drones (analogous to Iran's Shahed) and deprived modern Russian T-90M tanks of laser sensors.

This is reported by The Washington Post, reports UNN.

Details

According to the newspaper, earlier this year, Ukrainian Air Defense crews began to notice something strange in the unilateral drones that Russia regularly launches against Ukrainian cities.

The latest geranium-2 drones were more likely to get out of control when they entered a sharp turn. Some would have crashed harmlessly. The others leveled up, becoming easy prey for the air defense batteries. Still, drones kept popping up-sometimes up to 100 in one day. In the end, Western and Ukrainian military analysts attributed the higher failure rate to poor-quality components, in particular a small steering engine, not much larger than a pack of cigarettes. Russia recently switched to the Chinese engine after Western countries imposed sanctions to block Moscow's access to Western technology

The faulty drones marked a small victory for Western countries in the ongoing shadowy conflict, which is being waged in part by spy services to deprive Moscow of access to the high-tech components needed for modern weapons of war.

Three years of pressure from an unprecedented sanctions campaign have weakened the Kremlin's war machine, forcing it to skimp on quality and use old and outdated equipment, while seriously calling into question its long-term viability. But Russia still manages to get many important spare parts for Western weapons with the help of undercover operatives and criminal groups, and it buys the rest from China

Also, employees of the British analytical center Royal United Services Institute identified the probable cause of failures of Russian drones: a small mechanical device known as a servo motor, which helps regulate the movement of the drone during flight.

At the end of last year, the aircraft manufacturer began using a Chinese servo motor, a substitute for a South Korean product that Russia used to use, but now cannot easily obtain.

Another example of the impact of Western sanctions was the suspension of the installation of laser sensors on the barrels of modern Russian T-90M tanks (which help crews accurately fire).

These sensors have not been installed on new tanks since the end of last year, as a result of which the "crew survival rate" decreases. However, the deterioration in the quality of Russian drones is almost offset by an increase in production volumes and the intensity of shelling. In October alone, the invaders launched more than 2,000 attack UAVs in Ukraine.

recall

The US Treasury Department announced the imposition of sanctions on the international network TGR Group, which helped Russian elites circumvent US and international sanctions.