Cake icon
1 day left until December 1. Help us get 500 new members before then!
We appreciate your continued support. We wouldn't be here without you. 🤍
Balloons icon
Skip to content

News Feed

4:09 AM
Judicial and law enforcement authorities from seven countries have dismantled a Ukrainian ransomware group, seizing hundreds of digital equipment in the process, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) announced in a statement on Nov. 28.
2:26 AM
Russian forces attacked six communities along the Sumy Oblast border on Nov. 30, firing 24 times over the course of the day and injuring one civilian, the Sumy Oblast military administration reported.
2:07 AM
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) allegedly detonated explosives on a Russian military supply rail line in Siberia, an unnamed Ukrainian source told Reuters on Nov. 30.
1:16 AM
During a call with Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that there would be no Peace Formula Summit until early 2024, the President's office wrote in the readout of the conversation on Nov. 30.
Ukraine Daily
News from
Ukraine in your
inbox
7:04 PM
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov visited a military command post in Kharkiv Oblast's Kupiansk amid Russia's ongoing offensive against the northeastern city, the Presidential Office reported on Nov. 30.
MORE NEWS
Edit post

Guardian: Ukraine sends letter to G7 on use of Western parts in Shahed drones

by Nate Ostiller and The Kyiv Independent news desk September 27, 2023 5:28 PM 1 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

A letter from the Ukrainian government to G7 nations says that some of the components used in the manufacture of Shahed-type drones come from companies based in the West, The Guardian reported on Sept. 27.

The letter alleges that more than 50 electrical components originally stemmed from companies located in countries that are both allied with Ukraine and involved in the sanctions coalition. The countries named include the U.S., Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Canada, and Japan.

According to the letter, Shahed-type drones using Western components have been used in at least 600 strikes on Ukraine.

The drones, which were originally produced in Iran and first used in attacks against Ukraine in September 2022, are cheap to manufacture, and when used in swarms can be “a headache” for Ukrainian air defense, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said.

There have been previous reports that the Shahed drones were being manufactured with parts from Western countries, and the letter further purports that Iran has begun to “disassociate itself from providing Russia with weapons”, and that “it cannot cope with Russian demand”.

As a result, drone manufacturing locations have shifted to Russia, in addition to Iran and in Syria, another Kremlin ally.

The letter also notes that it is unclear if the Western companies mentioned were fully aware that their components were being used in drone production, because the parts are largely of a commercial nature and are thus poorly regulated. The components have typically reached Iran through intermediary countries, thereby evading sanctions.

Spokespeople for some of the companies identified in the letter have condemned the usage of their components in the manufacturing of drones and have participated in sanctions, but have acknowledged it is “difficult to fully control sales throughout the entire lifetime of a product”.

Cake icon
1 day left until December 1. Help us get 500 new members before then!
The Kyiv Independent is celebrating its 2nd birthday amid another uncertain chapter in the war, as Russia has renewed offensives and attacks on Ukraine's energy system. Our members give us financial freedom to keep telling the truth about this war.
Help us get 500 new members!
visa masterCard americanExpress

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe

Please, enter correct email address

Subscribe

* indicates required
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.