BREAKING: As the Trump admin reportedly prepares to pull funding for war crime investigations — and missile defense systems for Ukraine — a new exposé reveals that microelectronics from American tech giants like Intel and Texas Instruments continue to enable precision strikes on Ukrainian hospitals, schools, and shopping centers.... Over 1,100 Western components found in Russian fighter jets. Hunterbrook Capital does not have positions related to this article at the time of publication. Positions may change at any time. Please see our website (link in bio) for full disclosures.show more

The investigation is the third in a series from the IPHR and NAKO.. It’s the first to focus on tracing the supply chains behind specific precision strikes that investigators believe constitute war crimes. Each attack hit civilians with weapons accurate to within 15-30 feet—far too precise to be accidents. No military targets were found within the weapons' accuracy range.

The human toll: 26 civilians killed, 109 injured. Children were victims in 5 of the 10 attacks. But this isn't just about numbers. It's about Western technology making these precision strikes possible.

How do we know Western tech is involved? Investigators analyzed the wreckage of downed Russian Su-34 and Su-35S fighter jets. What they found: - Su-34s: 227 foreign components from 59 companies - Su-35S: 891 components from 138 companies - Majority made in the USA

The most damning evidence comes from the weapons themselves. UMPB D30-SN bombs—Russia's new precision weapons—consistently strike civilian targets hundreds of yards from any military objective. With 15-30-foot accuracy, these aren't targeting errors. They're deliberate.

The methodology: - Analyzed 180,000+ customs records - Verified components in online databases - Geolocated impact sites

Despite significant sanctions, the investigation uncovered an $805.6 MILLION pipeline of Western semiconductors flowing to Russia in 2023 alone. The route? A complex web through China, Hong Kong, and dozens of other countries.

Here's how it works: About a third of shipments were under the $10,000 threshold that triggers additional scrutiny. 1,330 Russian companies work with 1,797 foreign suppliers to acquire these components. Some intermediaries openly advertised "parallel imports" of sanctioned goods.

A smoking gun? Russian military social media openly celebrated these attacks. Bombs were inscribed with messages like "Greetings from Belgorod! 22.05.24"—dates and locations that exactly match Ukrainian prosecutor records of civilian strikes.

When investigators contacted 143 companies whose components were found in Russian aircraft, only 44 responded. Most offered only boilerplate statements. Others cited a range of explanations, which you can read in the report. Legacy inventory was the predominant response.

An international lawyer described these attacks as “clear-cut cases of war crimes” — and said the Western companies whose components contribute to these precision attacks have “not only legal, but also a moral obligation” to do everything possible to ensure their technology is not used in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. For now, the U.S. government appears to be going in a different direction. In June, Reuters reported that the White House is thinking about terminating funding for “nearly two dozen programs that conduct war crimes and accountability work globally.” Among the planned cuts, according to Reuters, are war crime accountability programs in Ukraine.

Read Hunterbrook’s write up of the investigation: Read the full investigation: