Russia has continued to import aircraft parts from Boeing and Airbus despite EU and U.S. sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported Thursday.

Yle’s investigation, which analyzed Russian customs data, found that Russia has imported at least 1 billion euros’ worth of aircraft parts since 2022, despite ambitious plans for a domestic airline parts industry.

The report shows that Russia has built a vast international network of 360 companies to bypass Western sanctions banning the sale of Airbus and Boeing parts to Russia. Many of these companies were added to Western sanctions lists after their involvement with Russia was revealed.

The top exporters of airplane parts were companies located in the United Arab Emirates, Gabon, China and Turkey.

The shipments included not only basic cabin supplies but also critical components such as engines, radar systems and onboard computers, some of which could have potential military applications.

Between February 2022 and September 2024, Russia imported an estimated 600 million euros’ worth of Airbus parts and 400 million euros in Boeing components. Yle noted that the true volume of imports may be higher.

Recipients of these shipments were primarily airlines operating civilian flights.