In the first nine months of 2023, Russia imported more than €100 million worth of sensitive goods for use in weapons from the EU.

Bloomberg reported on this with reference to anonymous sources.

According to a European official, EU countries are still not taking sufficient measures to prevent Russia from acquiring technologies subject to export restrictions, which it then employs in weaponry to wage war against Ukraine.

Almost a quarter of the €450 million of so-called “high priority goods” that Russia received from the EU in the first nine months of last year were transferred directly from the member countries.

The rest of these goods were mostly imported by Russia through third countries, such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia, China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.

It is noted that in recent months, the EU and its allies have focused most of their sanctions work on the list of “common high priority” goods.

The list includes dozens of spare parts, components, and advanced technologies, such as semiconductors and electronics, that have been found in missiles and other military systems used by Russia against Ukraine or are necessary for their production.

Among other things, the EU is taking measures to enforce the sanctions regime: export restrictions for companies in third countries, as well as diplomatic contacts with these countries with a request to limit re-exports to Russia.

At the same time, by the end of 2023, the volume of exports from China to Russia had reached $111 billion.

This is 47% more than in 2022 and 65% more than in pre-war 2021, The Bell reports, citing Chinese customs data.

For China, Russia has turned from a minor market into a medium-sized market, taking into account the sanctions imposed after the start of a full-scale war,

The Russian market ascended from 16th to seventh place in terms of total imports from China during the year. China supplies more goods only to the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and India.