Previous reports described how Russia has made up for the shortage of electronic components caused by international sanctions since Russia began to invade Ukraine. The latest survey results in Ukraine recently emphasize how far Russian manufacturers have gone. At Wednesday's Senate hearing, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina ramondo cited Ukrainians' discovery of semiconductors originally used in dishwashers and refrigerators in Russian tanks.
Ukrainian officials said that this strange phenomenon is due to the substitution of parts that Russian manufacturers cannot obtain due to international sanctions.
Ramondo said that since Russia launched its invasion at the end of February, U.S. technology exports to Russia have fallen sharply by nearly 70%. U.S. Commerce Department spokesman Robin Patterson said that in the past year, the transportation volume of equipment parts from the United States to Russia has decreased by 85%, and the sanctions are successfully weakening Russia's war efforts.
In compliance with the sanctions, computer companies such as Intel, AMD, IBM, TSMC and global foundries also stopped selling chips to Russia.
One response from Russia was to turn a blind eye to the illegal import (smuggling) of electronic products and parts. Russia also plans to develop local chip manufacturing and reverse engineer Western electronic products. The country hopes to produce its own 28 nm nodes by 2030.
Russia is not the only entity to fill chip defects by dismantling household appliances. Last month, ASML CEO Peter wennik admitted that some companies are reusing chips from used washing machines to make up for the current global chip shortage.