Three years of reporting, funded by our readers — become a member now and help us prepare for 2025.
Goal: 1,000 new members for our birthday. Gift a membership to your friend and help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Become a member Gift membership
Skip to content
Edit post

Zelensky calls for tougher sanctions as Russia launched 2,000 drone attacks on Ukraine in October using foreign-made parts

by Dmytro Basmat November 2, 2024 9:30 PM 2 min read
President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulates Ukrainian military on the Territorial Defense Day on Oct. 7, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Oleg Palchyk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Russia launched over 2,000 Shahed-type drones at Ukraine in October, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 2, while urging Western allies to apply more sanctions against the providers of components used in Russian drones.

Russia continues to avoid sanctions through the use of sanctions evasion networks and shell companies. Russia is also aided in sanctions evasion through its allies, including China, Iran, and North Korea.

"This volume of 'Shahed' drones means over 170,000 components that should have been blocked from reaching Russia," Zelensky said in his evening address. "Microchips, microcontrollers, processors, and many other parts are essential for enabling this terror."

"All of these are supplied to Russia from abroad, unfortunately, from companies in China, Europe, and America—a multitude of small but significant contributions to Russia’s ongoing terror," Zelensky added.

Zelensky's comments come as Russia launched a mass drone attack on Kyiv on Nov. 2, which caused a fire in a 16-story residential building and an office building, and left an 82-year-old woman with shrapnel injuries to the head.

During his evening address, Zelensky called for sanctions against companies that deliver components to Russia to be made more expansive and effective.

"Such schemes also allow Russia to help strengthen the regimes in Iran and North Korea. This is a global threat, and it can only be overcome through global, coordinated pressure."

Zelensky's comments come a few days after the United States imposed sanctions on Oct. 30 against nearly 400 entities and individuals directly or indirectly involved in supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine.

The limitations applied to companies involved in sanctions evasion networks in 17 jurisdictions, including China, India, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Thailand, and Turkey, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

On Nov. 1, the U.S. imposed a $500,000 against GlobalFoundries for shipping chips without authorization to an affiliate of sanctioned Chinese chipmaker SMIC, Reuters reported.

Russia has launched tens of thousands of cheap but effective Iranian-designed Shahed-type drones against Ukraine since the fall of 2022.

On Oct. 20, Zelensky said that a total of 6,130 Shahed-type drones since the start of 2024 — although that number does not account for the hundreds of drones launched in the past two weeks.

In recent months, Russia has stepped up its drone attacks targeting cities and towns across Ukraine on a near daily basis since the start of September.

Mass Russian drone attack on Kyiv injures 1, leaves residential buildings, office damaged
“All drones that threatened the city were neutralized,” Kyiv City Military Administration said, without specifying the number of drones shot down over the capital.




Three years of reporting, funded by our readers.
Millions read the Kyiv Independent, but only one in 10,000 readers makes a financial contribution. Thanks to our community we've been able to keep our reporting free and accessible to everyone. For our third birthday, we're looking for 1,000 new members to help fund our mission and to help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Three years. Millions of readers. All thanks to 12,000 supporters.
It’s thanks to readers like you that we can celebrate another birthday this November. We’re looking for another 1,000 members to help fund our mission, keep our journalism accessible for all, and prepare for whatever 2025 might bring. Consider gifting a membership today or help us spread the word.
Help us get 1,000 new members!
Become a member Gift membership
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

1:40 PM

Merkel describes Trump as 'fascinated by Putin' in her memoir.

"(Donald Trump) saw everything from the point of view of a property developer, which is what he was before he came into politics. Every plot of land could only be sold once, and if he didn't get it, someone else would," Angela Merkel says in her memoir.
11:54 PM

Biden seeks to cancel over $4.5 billion of Ukraine's debt.

"We have taken the step that was outlined in the law to cancel those loans, provide that economic assistance to Ukraine, and now Congress is welcome to take it up if they wish," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Nov. 20.
MORE NEWS

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
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.