Open Source Intelligence and Analysis (OSIA)

Russia withdrew its cooperation from the U.N.’s Black Sea Grain Initiative in July ostensibly on the premise that Ukraine might use civilian vessels to transport Western weaponry into the conflict zone something Russia has been doing so since the early days of the war, as the case of the commercial ship Sparta IV illustrates. Several months into the Ukrainian counteroffensive and after the Wagner mutiny, Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative following a second successful Ukrainian attack on the Kerch Bridge. Despite the mainstream narrative about the land-centric nature of the conflict, the Black Sea is one of the most strategic areas of the war.

Some of Russia’s most sophisticated weapons systems are known to rely on microtechnologies. A Royal United Services Institute study found that large volumes of foreign-made microelectronics are contained in some of Russia’s most advanced killing machines. Investigators analysed 27 Russian weapons systems and pieces of military equipment that were lost or expended since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion to find that “it is heavily reliant on imports of sophisticated microelectronics to operate effectively”. In fact, it was discovered that of the 450 components in Russian military systems RUSI assessed, 318 appear to have been made by US companies.