Despite sanctions, German-made components are still being found in Russian drones used in attacks on Ukraine, with journalists reporting their number could reach into the hundreds of thousands, News.Az reports, citing Militarnyi.
Electronic components made by German manufacturers have been identified in Russian UAVs targeting Ukrainian cities. German media again highlighted the issue in January 2026 after analyzing the new Geran-5 jet drone.
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In late January 2025, after experts from Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (DIU) examined the wreckage of a new Russian jet drone, they reported finding transistors produced by Germany’s Infineon Technologies among other foreign components.
According to the DIU, most foreign components in Russian military equipment originate from the United States and China, while 137 items of German origin were documented. More than half were found in drones, with the rest identified in missiles, radar systems, military vehicles, and helicopters.
The most common German components are transistors, accounting for around 50 items. Other parts include pumps, inductors, generators, capacitors, transformers, and batteries. Most of the German transistors were found in UAVs.
The Bavarian company Infineon Technologies accounts for 58 of the 137 identified German components, most of them transistors used in drones. EPCOS AG manufactured seven electronic components found in drones. Nine parts were produced by Würth Elektronik, five of them identified in UAVs. Three pumps made by Pierburg, a subsidiary of Rheinmetall, were found in the Geran-2 UAV.
In an interview with DW, a DIU representative stressed that Russia has recently sought to reduce its dependence on Western components in UAV production. While in 2023, U.S.-made components accounted for up to 80% of parts in some versions of the Shahed-136 family, Chinese components now make up as much as 60%. At the same time, the use of German transistors remains widespread despite sanctions.
According to the DIU, Russian manufacturers have been reluctant to replace German parts with lower-quality Chinese alternatives due to their availability and reliability.
“Infineon transistors are used in a large number of household appliances and general-purpose goods, so there are no significant obstacles to purchasing them in the required quantities,” he said.
DW contacted the German companies whose products were identified in Russian weapons. The manufacturers claimed that they comply with sanctions but acknowledged that controlling the resale of civilian products is extremely difficult. Infineon stated that all deliveries to Russia have been halted since 2022, but added that “it is difficult to control the resale of products throughout their entire life cycle, as Infineon produces about 30 billion chips per year.”
According to DW’s estimates, Russia could require nearly 500,000 German transistors in 2025 for the production of Geran-2 strike drones alone.
The DIU believes that, in many cases, German-made transistors are purchased for Russia directly in Germany via intermediaries to conceal the supply chain. The components are then routed to Russia via third countries considered friendly to the Kremlin or through smuggling channels.
German law professor Viktor Winkler, an expert on sanctions policy, told DW that since 2022, deliveries of components from Germany to Russia have become increasingly likely to be routed directly through German shell companies rather than via third countries.
