Sanctions bypassed: Inside Russia's new cruise missile built from Western technology

Ukraine has uncovered a disturbing reality behind Russia's latest cruise missile: it is built with the help of foreign technology, including components sourced from the United States, Australia and Switzerland.

The S8000 Banderol, which is Russian for "small parcel", is compact, agile and hard to jam.

It first struck Ukrainian cities earlier this year, leaving Kyiv's air defenders scrambling to identify it.

• Russia plans training launch of intercontinental ballistic missile to intimidate, Ukraine says
• Incredible work turning civilians into soldiers, Starmer tells Interflex trainers
• Russian aggression rises – and so does Poland's defence budget as it boosts forces

Now, they have answers.

At least one missile was recovered largely intact, allowing Ukraine's military intelligence agency, the GUR, to conduct a forensic investigation.

What they discovered has been published in detail on an official website, revealing a disturbing picture of how Russia continues to find ways to circumvent global sanctions.

The Banderol is 16ft long and carries a 115kg warhead – the same as the one used in Russia's FAB-100 general-purpose bomb.

It is thought to have a range of 300 miles and is launched from underneath an Orion reconnaissance drone, Russia's equivalent of the American MQ-1 Predator.

Ukraine even believes Russia is also adapting Mi-28 attack helicopters to carry it.

Investigators found it contains up to 20 foreign components, including:

• A turbojet engine made in China, usually sold for use in model aircraft – easily found online for £12,500
• Rechargeable battery packs from Japan
• Flight controller parts from South Korea and the United States
• A microcontroller manufactured in Switzerland
• Two dozen microchips, largely sourced through a Russian distributor named Chip and Dip

While Chip and Dip is sanctioned by the US and Ukraine, it remains unsanctioned by the UK, EU, Japan and Australia - leaving a key loophole for Russian procurement.

In total, 20 of the Banderol's critical parts originated from 30 different foreign companies.

Moscow continues to circumvent sanctions with apparent ease – a practice honed over decades.

Russia routinely routes shipments through third countries, uses recycled electronics from China and re-purposes consumer tech for military use.

Last year, a Russian S-70 stealth drone that crashed in Ukraine was found to contain dozens of Western-made components.

According to the GUR, foreign parts have been discovered in 165 captured Russian weapons, totalling nearly 5,000 individual components.