Zelenskyy flags 'Western-made components' in Russian drones behind deadly strike in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed that British-made microchips were among the 100,000 foreign-made parts found in Russian missiles and drones that were used in a deadly attack over the weekend.

The Ukrainian president has urged for stronger and more “effective” sanctions, stating that components from allied nations, including Germany, Japan, and the United States, have been found in Russian weapons.

Russian forces fired 496 drones and 53 missiles at Ukraine on Sunday, killing five people, crippling the country’s energy infrastructure and temporarily severing power supplies to tens of thousands.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has said that it recently conducted a crackdown on companies that have continued to supply parts to Russia.

“We take reports of goods from UK companies being found in Russian weaponry incredibly seriously,” a government spokesperson told the BBC.

The spokesperson added that the government had “banned the export of thousands of goods to Russia, including every battlefield item Ukraine has brought to our attention,” adding that they have imposed “the most severe package of sanctions”.

‘Living nightmare’

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday said the two years since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza, had been a “living nightmare” for many.

Starmer also said the period had seen “rising antisemitism” in the UK, days after two Jewish men were killed in an attack against a Manchester synagogue.

“Today we mark two years since the horrifying attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7th 2023…. The worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Starmer said in a statement.

“Since that awful day, so many have endured a living nightmare,” he said, vowing to continue efforts to bring home British hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

With inputs from agencies