Turkey Secretly Halts Export of Key Western Electronics to Russia, FT Reports

The Turkish government has secretly blocked the supply of some Western-made goods to Russia that can be used for weapons production.

This was reported by the Financial Times, citing anonymous sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Turkey’s customs have now blocked exporters from shipping over four dozen categories of US-origin “battlefield goods” to Russia, which was previously permitted. Similar items from the EU were already blocked and continue to remain restricted.

Among these goods are advanced electronics, including processors, memory cards, control systems, machine tools, and other equipment used by Russia to produce weapons used in Ukraine.

According to FT, Ankara has not officially announced the restrictions. This comes after the US threatened Turkey, which has not joined Western sanctions, with consequences for supporting Russia's military.

The banned goods are drawn from a list of 50 “high-priority” Western-made items that the US, UK, EU, and Japan have identified as essential for Russia's arms industry imports.

Western-made components are found in many of the missiles Russia deploys against Ukraine, including the Kh-101, Kinzhal, Kalibr, Iskander, Tsirkon, and Kh-59. Strengthening sanctions on the export of these critical electronics would contribute to disrupting Russia's weapons production.

Moreover, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, stated that a recent analysis of missiles supplied by North Korea to Russia for attacks on Ukraine found components made by Western companies.