Hong Kong has emerged as a critical hub in a network supplying Russia’s military with vital European technology, circumventing international sanctions imposed after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. A new report by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation (CFHK) details how traders based in Hong Kong and mainland China are channeling semiconductors, sensors, and other components – manufactured by firms like Dutch NXP Semiconductor and German Infineon Technologies – to Russian importers, including those already sanctioned by the West.
The findings, published in the report “Bypassing the Blockade,” are based on analysis of battlefield forensics from the Ukraine defense ministry, export data, and corporate records. Researchers found that seven Hong Kong and China-based traders shipped military-leverage technology produced by over 20 European manufacturers to Russian entities between 2022 and 2024. These shipments, worth nearly $28 million in some cases, have largely escaped scrutiny from international authorities.
The report highlights a systemic weakness in the sanctions regime. Even as the European Commission and the U.S. Have targeted hundreds of individuals and firms allegedly financing the war, and implemented export controls, Hong Kong has refused to enforce these measures, adhering only to United Nations sanctions. This policy, coupled with a permissive business environment, has allowed a network of intermediaries to flourish.
One key intermediary identified in the report is Woeroon Electronic Sourcing Ltd., and its Shenzhen sister company. The researchers found Woeroon facilitated the transfer of hundreds of technological goods worth nearly $28 million between 2022 and 2024. The company remains unsanctioned. “Woeroon’s case is indicative of a much bigger problem,” the report states, emphasizing that Hong Kong functions as “a systemic hub for the routing of sanctioned goods and payments to Russia.” Woeroon did not respond to requests for comment from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which collaborated on the report.
The flow of technology isn’t limited to direct exports. Some Hong Kong traders, controlled by Russian nationals, are bypassing checks by sourcing Western technology manufactured in factories in Asia and North Africa, according to the CFHK report. This adds a layer of complexity to tracking and intercepting these shipments.
The findings echo a broader trend identified in recent investigations. A 2023 investigation led by ICIJ’s media partners NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung uncovered a network of shell companies in Cyprus used to procure Western military technology for Russia’s surveillance program. That investigation too revealed the involvement of Hong Kong entities in the illicit procurement network, including one used to ship an Italian-manufactured drilling head to Russia in 2024, mislabeled as “working tools.”
The scale of the circumvention is significant. Research published in February 2026 by B4Ukraine, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, and Corisk found that $23.7 billion in goods produced by Western companies reached Russia via China and Hong Kong between April 2022 and July 2024. This included $9.2 billion produced inside Western countries, with substantial amounts of sanctioned components like aircraft parts, integrated circuits, and automotive parts. B4Ukraine called on the EU and G7 governments to accept urgent action to halt these exports.
While acknowledging the challenges, David O’Sullivan, the EU’s sanctions envoy, recently told The Guardian that sanctions against Russia have been effective in crippling its economic and military power. However, he conceded that China’s support for Moscow remains a concern. “China’s answer is always the same: ‘Nothing to see here. We don’t know what you’re talking about. We don’t see any problem,’” O’Sullivan said.
The CFHK report recommends a shift in strategy, urging democratic countries to target individual businesspeople and block them from forming new companies or utilizing unsanctioned entities within the same business group. Researchers also call for adding Hong Kong to the list of high-risk jurisdictions for financial crimes and for Western governments to enforce existing sanctions laws more rigorously. The report concludes that the “decisive levers are not at local borders, but in rules imposed on European firms with respect to their global manufacturing, distribution, and compliance practices.” Representatives from the Chinese Embassy and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington D.C. Did not respond to ICIJ’s requests for comment.
