Exclusive: Russian company supplies microchips to military despite denials

Russian microchip company AO PKK Milandr continued to supply microchips to the Russian armed forces at least months after Russia invaded Ukraine, despite company director Alexey Novoselov publicly denying any involvement with the Russian military connect.

An official letter obtained by VOA on February 10, 2023 shows a request to sell 4,080 military-grade microchips to the Russian military. The sale request was made to Milandr CEO SV Tarasenko by the deputy commander of the 546th Military Representative Office of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the commercial director of Russian manufacturer NPO Poisk in April 2023, more than a year after the outbreak of the war. delivered before.

The letter directs Milandr to supply three types of microchip components to NPO Poisk, a well-known Russian defense manufacturer that produces detonators for weapons used by the Russian armed forces.

Denys Karlovskyi, a researcher at the London Institute, said: “Each of the three circuits in the document table are classified as military-grade components… and each is specifically manufactured by Milandr .” located at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Research. VOA shared the document with him to confirm its authenticity.

In addition to Milandr CEO Tarasenko, the letter was also addressed to IA Shvid, the commander of the 514th Military Delegation of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Karlovsky said the inclusion showed that Mirandel, like Poisk, appeared to have a Russian commander from an oversight branch of the Ministry of Defense – a clear indication that the company was part of the Russian defense industry.

Milandr, based in an area near Moscow known as the “Soviet Silicon Valley,” was sanctioned by the United States in November 2022 for using front companies to illegally source microelectronic components.

“The United States will continue to expose and disrupt the Kremlin’s military supply chain and deny Russia its equipment and technology needed” to wage an illegal war against Ukraine. “

Karlovskyi said that in Russia’s public contract database, Milandr lists more than 500 contracts for supply to numerous state-owned and military-level enterprises, including Ural Optical Machinery Plant, Concern Avtomatika and Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant (IEMZ Kupol). , these companies have also been sanctioned by the United States.

“This clearly shows that this entity is a key node in the Russian military supply chain,” Karlovsky told VOA.

Novoselov, Mirandel’s current director, told Bloomberg News last August that he was unaware of any ties to the Russian military.

“I don’t know of any military personnel who would be interested in our product,” he told Bloomberg in a phone interview, adding that the company mainly makes electricity meters.

He said the U.S. accusation was “like a fantasy.” “The U.S. State Department believes that every electronics company in Russia is focused on the military. I find that interesting.”

But a U.S. defense official told VOA that helping Russian troops kill tens of thousands of people in illegal incursions is “no joke.”

“The company is providing fuel for microchips in missiles and heavy armored vehicles that will be used to continue the war in Ukraine,” the defense official told VOA. The official was asked to discuss the sensitivity of U.S. intelligence. Asked to remain anonymous.

Milandr co-founder Mikhail Pavlyuk was also sanctioned in the summer of 2022 for his involvement in a microchip smuggling operation and was found to have stolen from Milandr. Pavlyuk fled Russia and claimed he had no involvement.

Official estimates indicate that 500,000 Ukrainian and Russian troops have been killed or injured in the war, and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the fighting.

“Their actions have consequences, and the United States will continue to expose and disrupt the Kremlin’s supply chains,” the U.S. defense official said.