Hong Kong’s Technology Lifeline to Russia
As the war in Ukraine continues into its second year, Moscow has intensified its campaign to strike Ukrainian targets with strategic bombers, lethal drones, and cruise missiles.1 To cut off Russia’s access to the critical components required to manufacture these weapons, the United States and its partners have imposed a wide array of sanctions against Russia’s defense industrial base. Despite Western sanctions, foreign-made technology continues to find its way into Russia’s war machine. Russia’s most consequential partner, China, has extended a critical helping hand to an increasingly isolated Russia, funneling over $500 million worth of microelectronic components needed to manufacture military gear into Russia’s defense industrial base in 2022 alone.2
While China’s support for Russia is widely reported, Hong Kong’s substantial contributions to Russia’s war efforts are less known. Recent reports have identified Hong Kong as a prominent node in Russia’s illicit procurement network, acting as a transshipment