Ukraine is seeing early signs that sanctions are disrupting Russia’s access to some foreign technology used in Shahed drones, although newly manufactured Western and Asian components are still being found in the weapons, according to a Kyiv Post report citing a briefing by a senior Ukrainian sanctions official. 

Vladyslav Vlasyuk, the Ukrainian president’s representative on sanctions policy, told journalists on Friday that a recent analysis of Russian Shahed drones used in strikes on western Ukraine found no components from Dutch company NXP, which he described as a possible sign that pressure on supply chains was beginning to have an effect. He now has “restrained optimism” that Russia may have stopped receiving components from the Netherlands, the newspaper said.

At the same time, Vlasyuk said the drones continued to contain recently manufactured foreign parts, according to the report. He identified components from Switzerland’s STMicroelectronics dating from late 2025, as well as U.S. parts produced as recently as late 2025, while also noting a growing number of Chinese-made parts, including circuit boards manufactured as recently as March 2026. 

The report also said Vlasyuk flagged a significant presence of fresh Japanese components. 

Ukraine has been systematically tracking foreign-made components in Russian weapons for three years, compiling lists of manufacturers and sharing serial numbers with governments and companies to trace supply leaks, according to Kyiv Post. Vlasyuk said that approach had shown some results, but expressed frustration that some manufacturers were not responding seriously enough to evidence provided by Kyiv. 

Vlasyuk also raised the possibility of legal action against some U.S. manufacturers, saying American lawyers were exploring lawsuits on behalf of Ukrainians injured by weapons containing components from those companies, according to the report. Beyond Russia, Vlasyuk separately warned of a growing two-way military technology exchange between Russia and Iran, the newspaper said.

Read more at Kyiv Post