After the imposition of Western sanctions, Russian companies began to actively purchase telecommunications equipment and microchips for the development of weapons systems and drones through a network of intermediaries, mainly in China, but also through channels in Morocco and Turkey. This was reported by The New York Times.

According to the article, these conclusions were made based on an analysis of supply chains revealed through emails of Russian officials, as well as by studying trade documents and records of conversations between representatives of commercial companies and the Russian Federation.

The publication emphasizes that these data show that Russian companies are "one step ahead of US attempts to cut them off from procurement."

Some of the equipment purchased in other countries, including China, is delivered through Morocco. In the port of Tangier-Med, equipment and components banned for import into Russia, including products from Cisco, HP, Juniper, Ericsson, and Nokia, are "transshipped" - transferred from ship to ship. This is how sanctioned goods enter Russia. A similar route also runs through Turkey.

Then, the sanctioned equipment is actively sold in Russian specialized online stores, including Nag, OCS Distribution, 3Logic Distribution and 4Telecom. In the first months of the war, Nag purchased American high-tech products through intermediaries for a total of about $100 million. Russia also imported $150 million worth of goods from China in 2023.