Russia is still swimming in new Intel and AMD chips thanks to sanction "workarounds"

[zohaibahd]

Editor's take: Despite US export bans following the invasion of Ukraine, chips continue flowing into Russia through a complex web of unofficial channels. The key takeaway is that sanctions often look strong on paper but remain porous in practice. For now, efforts to cut off Russia's access to high-end chips appear largely symbolic.

Russia's official customs data suggests the country's once-thriving market for US-made processors has nearly disappeared. Figures from the Federal Customs Service (FCS), reported by Russian publication Kommersant, show Intel CPU imports fell by 95 percent last year compared to the previous year. By comparison, AMD shipments dropped by 81 percent. That amounts to just 37,000 CPUs total – a steep decline from 537,000 units in 2023.

Executives in Russia's tech manufacturing sector paint a different picture. Leaders at major domestic assemblers like Lotos Group and Rikor told Kommersant that processor deliveries are not only continuing but increasing. Rikor reports purchasing over 120,000 processors last year – about 30 percent more than the year before. Many Russian tech firms also say chip supplies have improved for the third consecutive year.

Sanctions enforcement is struggling to keep up with a growing number of workarounds. Hong Kong remains a key hub in this network, with one address reportedly managing billions of dollars in smuggled semiconductors. Meanwhile, other chips enter Russia through countries like Malaysia and India, often relabeled or bundled within broader product categories that conceal their true nature from customs officials.

Industry insiders say many processors arrive without being labeled as such. A Russian tech executive told Kommersant that the word "processor" often doesn't appear on delivery sheets. This practice helps explain why the Federal Customs Service's import numbers look so anemic, even though factory shelves remain well-stocked.

It's not all smooth sailing, however. Suppliers warn Russian buyers to expect a 10 to 12 percent price increase in 2025, citing inflation and ongoing tensions in US-China trade relations as key factors. Still, prices for mainstream processors have remained relatively stable for the time being.

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Russia is still swimming in new Intel and AMD chips thanks to sanction "workarounds"

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Wow, it's almost like sanctions dont work in a globalist economy. It's like trying to plug a 6" pipe with a 1" drain stopper. Especially when 99% of your electronics are made in countries that are ideologically opposed to you and allied with the country you are trying to sanction.

Hmmmmm......Who woudda thunk it?

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Always been this way. Sanctions in a modern environment have always been a game of whackamole and cat n mouse.

Ultimately, so long as Russia has to sell their oil below market value and buy imported goods for above market value the sanctions are having an effect.

Just have to keep squashing new workarounds as they crop up to keep the pressure on.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Always been this way. Sanctions in a modern environment have always been a game of whackamole and cat n mouse.

Ultimately, so long as Russia has to sell their oil below market value and buy imported goods for above market value the sanctions are having an effect.

Just have to keep squashing new workarounds as they crop up to keep the pressure on.

We've been hearing that for 3 years, yet life continues as normal in Russia and Ukraine continues to lose territory. Compare this to sanctions against Iraq for nuclear material that have managed to keep them from assembling a weapon of mass destruction. There's a clear difference in effectiveness.

Also.....their article itself which shows the sanctions on computer chips have accomplished almost nothing. And while the EU isnt buying russian oil nearly as much, their appetite for russian GAS has been ever growing and hit a record last year, despite the "sanctions" and "protests" and whatnot.

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-...-speed-despite-cut-off-sanctions-war-ukraine/

 

[The Talking Tech]

And yet for Trump it's far more important to spend millions on of dollars deporting legal U.S residents, separating families and destroying the U.S economy and it's government than stoping Russia and thor criminal ways.

I mean Trump is just as bad as Putin so I guess there's only honor among criminals.

 

[DrSuess]

Well someone had to buy all of those Intel chips that didn't sell, I hope Russia doesn't mind it when their missiles and drones randomly reboot.

 

[Axeia]

Well duh, unless literally every other country in the world sanctions Russia it won't work and other countries just work as proxies.
It might raise the price as some middle men want a slice of the pie but it won't prevent anything.

 

[Beerfloat]

Great, if it's no problem anyway, the sanctions can stay.

And we don't stop trying to prevent crime just because it does still happen.

 

[Hassanabi]

Sanctions are only good to make citizens pay more for something. Why can't electricity drop to the same price or even cheaper years after this war started?

Because companies and CEO's are lining their pockets, it's a load of crap we're still paying double on usage of electricity with only minor fluctuations. Yet these people are getting richer and richer...

.. and then you're not even considering all the other goods, numerous other countries delivering the same product yet we're overpaying by miles even though prices in tons are not that much higher than they were before.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

We've been hearing that for 3 years, yet life continues as normal in Russia and Ukraine continues to lose territory. Compare this to sanctions against Iraq for nuclear material that have managed to keep them from assembling a weapon of mass destruction. There's a clear difference in effectiveness.

Also.....their article itself which shows the sanctions on computer chips have accomplished almost nothing. And while the EU isnt buying russian oil nearly as much, their appetite for russian GAS has been ever growing and hit a record last year, despite the "sanctions" and "protests" and whatnot.

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-...-speed-despite-cut-off-sanctions-war-ukraine/

-Yeah, cause any tom **** or Harry can walk down to the general store and buy some fissile material yeah?

Ofc stuff to build nukes is going to be easier to sanction than consumer grade processors, WTF kind of argument is that?

If Russia wanted to give Iran a nuke or requisite material they could any day they choose, they just know that's a terrible idea despite being dependent on Iranian drones to fight Ukraine.

European LNG Tracker

IEEFA’s European LNG Tracker is an interactive data set to visualise Europe’s LNG infrastructure, demand and capacity outlook, and import and export flows. (Updated: February 2025)

ieefa.org

Europe buys LNG from Russia as part of long term contracts, but Russia is a distant second to the US as a supplier and the overall consumption of LNG in the EU is declining year over year. Its a shrinking market.

Its all in how you choose to frame it.

 

[Tantor]

Compare this to sanctions against Iraq for nuclear material that have managed to keep them from assembling a weapon of mass destruction.

Iran issued a religious fatwa against nuclear weapons, that's why they don't have nukes.

Iran doesn't need nukes. If Israel bombs Iranian atomic energy facilities, then Iran will shut down all transit through the Persian Gulf. If the US intervenes, expect carriers to go down.

Sanctions are a face-saving device for the West. In reality they don't have much ability to change the behavior of modern industrialized nations.

 

[Tantor]

Always been this way. Sanctions in a modern environment have always been a game of whackamole and cat n mouse.

Ultimately, so long as Russia has to sell their oil below market value and buy imported goods for above market value the sanctions are having an effect.

Just have to keep squashing new workarounds as they crop up to keep the pressure on.

The West is growing hysterical about Russian oil. I would not be surprised to see Western ships trying to board Russian tankers. Russian media is talking about posting Spetnatz (Russian marines) on tankers and providing frigate escorts.

Where does a 1000lb bear go? Anywhere he wants.