Russia received more than $6.4 million worth of equipment and components from Taiwanese, Japanese, and South Korean manufacturers that are critical to the production and maintenance of the Pole-21 electronic warfare system. The analyzed shipments were made in 2024 and early 2025 through Russian companies linked to Pole-21 manufacturer JSC Scientific and Technical Center for Electronic Warfare (STC EW), according to research by the Economic Security Council of Ukraine (ESCU).
Taiwan
Russia imported products from Taiwan’s HannStar Board Corp, Innolux Corporation and Huang Liang Technologies worth nearly $3.7 million. The largest share consisted of HannStar Board multilayer printed circuit boards worth $3.18 million, which sanctioned Turkish company Ix Medikal supplied to Russia’s Fine Line LLC. Through related supply chains, Fine Line subsequently worked with Enel LLC, which supplied STC EW with $1.9 million worth of equipment. Innolux Corporation supplied Russia with color monitors worth $286.8 thousand through a Hong Kong intermediary. Huang Liang Technologies products worth $226.8 thousand included electrical equipment for connections in electrical circuits and insulated coaxial cables and were also supplied through companies based in Hong Kong. The Russian importers of these products had further links to companies supplying STC EW.
South Korea
Products from South Korea’s Hanwha Vision, Muhan Digital and Emerix worth more than $2 million were imported into Russia, with more than half of the shipments made directly from South Korea. Hanwha Vision supplied Russia’s SMTtech with equipment and components for printed circuit board assembly worth more than $955 thousand. Muhan Digital supplied coaxial cables worth $878 thousand, while Emerix supplied electronic measurement and testing equipment worth $244 thousand. The importers and buyers of these products were SMTtech, Amitron Electronics and Amitron-EK — companies with direct or indirect links to STC EW. In particular, Amitron Electronics supplied the manufacturer of «Pole-21» with products worth $170.7 thousand, while SMTtech worked with Enel LLC — a direct supplier to STC EW.
Japan
Equipment manufactured by Panasonic Factory Solutions Suzhou, the Chinese subsidiary of Japan’s Panasonic Corporation, was supplied to Russia for $657.6 thousand. This included process equipment for printed circuit board production, which China’s Qinyi Electronics supplied to Russia’s SMTtech. SMTtech specializes in electronics manufacturing equipment, components and turnkey production lines and supplied products to companies within Russia’s military-industrial complex, including Ryazan Radio Plant and Concern «Sozvezdie». The company also worked with Enel LLC — a direct supplier to STC EW.
“Direct shipments are now genuinely rare. Russia’s military-industrial complex obtains critical components and production equipment through multiple layers of intermediaries, while manufacturers in countries that are part of the sanctions coalition often do not conduct end-user checks beyond the point of first sale. Effective export controls by partner countries therefore need to consider not only the initial destination of a product, but also where it goes next and who ultimately uses it,” said Olena Yurchenko, Director of Analytics, Research and Investigations at the Economic Security Council of Ukraine (ESCU).
Earlier, the Economic Security Council of Ukraine found that Russia’s military-industrial complex will remain dependent on imports of strategic minerals until at least 2035 due to insufficient domestic production capacity.
