Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) notes that evidence is mounting to justify the imposition of secondary sanctions against Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan for helping Russia sustain its war effort.

An investigative report published by RFE/RL on June 22 says Kyrgyz and Kazakh companies have exported sanctioned dual-use technology to Russian suppliers of the Kremlin's war machine amid Western efforts to stymie such transfers through the Central Asian nations.

Russian imports of a range of dual-use goods from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have reportedly skyrocketed since the start of the war, including electronics produced by Western technology giants such as U.S. firms Texas Instruments and Analog Devices, whose components have been recovered from Russian weapons operating in Ukraine.  

For example, global imports of computers to Kazakhstan rose sevenfold to US$1.2 billion in 2022 compared to the previous year, including US$310 million from the EU. Kazakh exports to Russia in this category, meanwhile, jumped more than 2,300 times from the previous year to nearly US$300 million.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan reportedly did not import or export a single part for airplanes, helicopters, or drones in 2021, according to UN trade data.  But in 2022, Kyrgyz firms imported US$3.5 million in such parts -- primarily from the United States -- and exported US$1.5 million in this category to Russia.

Officials in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have found themselves under pressure from both Moscow and Western governments over technology transfers to Russia and have expressed concern over potential secondary sanctions against them by the United States and the EU.

The report says the issue has raised the specter of so-called secondary sanctions targeting the two Central Asian countries in an effort to halt this technology flow, with both U.S. and EU officials tasked with enforcing sanctions raising the issue during official visits to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in recent months.

In its investigation, RFE/RL reportedly found that Russian firms receiving Kazakh and Kyrgyz exports of dual-use technology have previously supplied electronics to the Russian defense industry, including state entities hit by Western or Ukrainian sanctions in response to Russian aggression.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States and the EU imposed an unprecedented wave of sanctions targeting the Kremlin and the Russian economy, including restrictions on Western electronics and other technology used by the Russian military.