Ukrainian authorities continue to find components made by Swiss companies in the wreckage of Russian drones and missiles, reports SRF. Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an adviser to Ukraine’s president on international sanctions, told SRF he wants Switzerland to do more to stop the flow.
Ukrainians face missile and drone attacks every night. Mr Vlasiuk describes it as a lottery: anyone could be hit.
Foreign components, chiefly microelectronics, are found in 90% of Russian weapons, he says. Russia’s arms industry is less self-sufficient than it would like to appear. Export controls and sanctions can therefore make a real difference.
Components from Swiss companies are among the most critical, Mr Vlasiuk argues. He says experts who have examined Russian weapons debris since 2022 estimate that 95% of Russian drones and missiles contain parts from Swiss companies, chiefly from STMicroelectronics and u-blox.
STMicroelectronics is a large semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Geneva, with French and Italian roots and a parent company incorporated in the Netherlands. It makes chips used in cars, industrial equipment and consumer electronics. u-blox is a Swiss technology company that grew out of ETH Zurich in 1997. It makes chips and modules for satellite positioning—such as GPS receivers—and wireless communication.
Ukraine has held extensive talks with the Swiss government, urging it to involve law-enforcement agencies and the export-control authority more closely. Mr Vlasiuk considers the response inadequate. Ukrainian authorities continued to find Swiss components in Russian weapons in September and October.
The Federal Council says it is doing all it can to ensure that companies monitor their supply chains. It also points out that the components are produced and supplied outside Switzerland.
Mr Vlasiuk acknowledges Switzerland’s support for Ukraine but says that explanation might have been acceptable in 2023, not in 2026. Sanctions have evolved, as have Russia’s methods of evading them. The absence of factories or direct exports from Switzerland is, he argues, no excuse for inaction.
The manufacturers say they comply with sanctions and have done no business with Russia since 2022. Mr Vlasiuk points to NXP, a Dutch chipmaker that once attracted even greater criticism. By 2026, he says, Ukrainian investigators were finding almost no trace of its components in Russian weapons. Sustained effort can make a difference; he has yet to see comparable progress from Swiss companies.
Investigations have found that distribution networks in China send electronic components to Russia. Mr Vlasiuk regards China as a problem. Its export-control authority has reportedly announced regulatory changes, which he welcomes, though he doubts their effectiveness.
American chips also remain widespread in Russian weapons. Ukraine works continually with the American government to restrict Russia’s access to them, Mr Vlasiuk says. Even so, American microchips account for an extremely high share of those found in Russian ballistic missiles.
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SRF article (in German)
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