New Delhi: Amid sanctions and global isolation post the Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow has found a covert supply channel for its war effort—Japan. Russia has used the country’s advanced technology sector and comparatively weak counterespionage framework to acquire sensitive components for its weapons, a report in The New York Times said Sunday.
It mentions that a significant share of Russian missiles and drones recovered on the battlefield contain Japanese-made components, including semiconductors, transmitters and electronic circuit boards. Many of these items are prohibited from direct export to Russia but are believed to reach the country through complex international supply chains involving third countries.
At the centre of the alleged procurement network is the Russian military intelligence agency, known as the G.R.U., and a little-known branch identified by western officials as the 20th Directorate. Intelligence officials quoted in the report claimed the unit specialises in obtaining advanced technology for Russia’s defence industry by operating under commercial and diplomatic cover.
Japan is the world’s largest exporter of the sensitive dual-use technology. Smugglers do not need to get the equipment to Russia directly. They need to export the equipment to an unsanctioned nation from where it can be sold and sent to Russia, according to the report.
“The man overseeing the 20th Directorate’s operation in Tokyo maintains a cover identity as an employee of the Russian state airline Aeroflot, according to current officials from four of those intelligence agencies. He plays a crucial role in supplying Russia’s war machine,” states NYT.
Aeroflot does not have a fleet in Japan but indirectly maintains logistics operations through its regional partner Proco Air.
“G.R.U. spies have used Aeroflot jobs as cover since the Soviet era as they hunted for Western technology,” adds the report.
The NYT investigation found that certain tranches of equipment were first flown into Sri Lanka, and then to Russia. A document identified the recipient as R-Pharm, a Moscow-based pharmaceutical company.
“R-Pharm is not under sanctions but its founder, Aleksei Repik, has been sanctioned by Australia, Britain and Canada (though not Japan) over his extensive ties to Mr. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” states the report, adding that Proco Air has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Western officials have repeatedly warned Japan about the Russian intelligence efforts and information about the network of companies, including Proco Air, it says.
According to the NYT investigation, Russia has been able to persist in the battlefield because of the continued access to technology and equipment smuggled out of Japan.
Going by Ukrainian government estimates, 90 percent of Russian missiles and drones contain Japanese components.
After a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile destroyed a residential tower block in Kyiv and killed at least 24 people in May, Ukrainian investigators found that the missile was being guided by Japanese components which were banned from export to Russia.
Ukraine sent roughly 16 diplomatic letters to Japan in 2025, detailing evidence of Japanese components recovered from civilian strikes in Ukraine, says the NYT report.
The letters provided lists and photographic evidence highlighting circuit boards, transmitters and semiconductors of Japanese origins. The NYT reviewed one of the letters which stated that Japanese components were found in a ballistic missile used by Russia.
“I hope you take this information into account when considering further restrictions against Russia, or strengthening the export control on transfers of sensitive goods and technology to third countries,” read the letter to officials at the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
The list included components manufactured by Japan’s well-known companies, such as Nippon Electric Corporation, Panasonic and Toshiba. No documentary evidence in the letters stated that these Japanese companies sold their components willingly to the Kremlin. All the companies denied any wrongdoing and stated that they were committed to complying with Japan’s economic sanctions and trade restrictions, said the report.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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