A US company allegedly violated sanctions by selling technology to three Russian defense companies

The first

were decided in 2014, shortly after the illegal annexation of

.

According to them, the US companies could not have relations with

, a Moscow-controlled company that produces missiles for the

, one of the most sophisticated weapons in the Russian Federation.

Nonetheless, from some documents and emails that the

agency had the opportunity to examine and from reports from internal sources, it emerged that a well-known US technology company, 

, would have

for its office computer systems.

The equipment "may have been sold" to MMZ Avangard through an intermediary, and

, the latter company said in a statement released to the agency, but has provided no evidence to support this explanation. 

Ukraine has accused Russia of deploying missiles made by MMZ Avangard against ground targets since last February 24.

At least thirty civilians were reportedly

with these missiles in an attack on a convoy on the border of the southern city of Zaporizhzhia last month. 

The Kremlin, MMZ Avangard itself and its parent company Almaz-Antey did not respond to

The US Department of Commerce hasn't even commented.

REUTERS / Stringer / File Photo

A crater left by a Russian attack with missiles produced by MMX Avangard against a convoy of civilian vehicles, Zaporizhzhia 30 September 2022.

Between 2017 and 2021 MMZ Avangard would have obtained over

for its computer systems.

These include high-speed network

, a corporate component of corporate networks.

that the company was violating sanctions.

The internal investigation had not been successful, but the company had

, officially for poor performance.

The fact that a Russian military company, identified as a threat by Washington, continued to acquire US computer hardware,

notes , suggests that

with sanctions.

It also highlights how

According to documents consulted by

they allegedly bought equipment from Extreme

also

, a major Russian military shipbuilding company, and

, a manufacturer of radar and other military electronic systems.

Extreme told Reuters it has no record of product sales to United Shipbuilding or Agat.

Russian companies did not respond to requests for comment.

In Russia, Extreme has maintained contact with its customers to help design complex networks that expand over time, sources familiar with the matter said.

For Russian military companies, Extreme equipment had a strong selling point, said the three people familiar with the expeditions: Unlike the bigger rivals,

.

"It's absolutely self-contained," said one of the sources of the equipment.

"It works without a license and you don't even need to be connected to the Internet."

This means, "You don't have to worry about your system going dark because someone in the US has decided to disconnect".

Extreme said the "standalone model" is not exclusive to the company, but acknowledged that it has become relatively rare.

.

REUTERS / Evgenia Novozhenina

An S-400 missile defense system in Red Square during a Victory Day parade.

Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2022.

It was no secret in Russia that MMZ Avangard used Extreme equipment

.

At the end of 2019, the missile manufacturer put out a tender via Russia's online public procurement platform, claiming it needed spare parts for the Extreme computer networks it owned.

Extreme didn't deny it was possible, but said she wouldn't necessarily have been made aware of such a race.

MMZ Avangard began buying products from Extreme in December 2017 and has been disguised under the DEMZ cover in Extreme's corporate documents since that date, according to emails and other documents seen by Reuters.

The most recent transaction using DEMZ coverage that Reuters identified was in September 2021. In total, records show Extreme shipped goods valued at approximately

during the reporting period.