Russia Ramps Up Kh-101 Missile Production and Evades Sanctions to Procure Western Components

A Russian Kh-101 missile that struck “Ohmatdyt” Children’s Hospital in Kyiv on July 8, relied on components manufactured in Western countries, according to experts and Ukrainian officials, highlighting Russia’s success in circumventing sanctions.

The Kh-101, captured on camera seconds before it hit the oncology hospital, is one of Russia’s most advanced cruise missiles and has been crucial in its intensified air campaign against Ukraine.

Russia is producing nearly 8 times more Kh-101s than it did before the full-scale invasion in 2022, and it still relies on parts from Western countries, including the United States.

“Western technology is allowing them to build these smarter missiles, which allow their terrorist attacks to get past our struggling air defenses,” said Olena Bilousova, a leading sanctions researcher at the Kyiv School of Economics Institute in Kyiv and a part of the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions.

While sanctions have cut Russia off from some advanced components, the Kremlin’s defense sector has turned to microprocessors and other advanced technologies not intended for military use. This shift is evident in a Ukrainian analysis of a Kh-101 missile launched in January, which found 16 pieces of Western-made electronics inside the missile.

Two components were marked as produced by the Swiss company STMicroelectronics, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, while the rest were from American chipmakers, including Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, and Intel.

All of the items are primarily designed for civilian purposes, and some are quite old.

An analysis of Russian documents by the Financial Times shows how Russian companies were able to obtain parts in 2023 that were identical to those used in the January Kh-101, simply by buying them on the open market and importing them through China.

The report by the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions showed that countries, from which the components were imported, include Hong Kong (46%), China (25%), and Turkey (8%).

While the Russian documents state that the parts were manufactured by Western producers, they are all listed as being made in China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, or Thailand.

The analysis of one fragment likely underestimates the extent of Russia’s dependence on foreign manufacturing. According to an analysis by the Office of the President of Ukraine, a fully equipped Kh-101 may contain over 50 different foreign-made parts.

In the aftermath of the missile strike on “Ohmatdyt”, Bellingcat has conducted a detailed investigation attributing the weapon responsible for the attack to a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile.