Russia-Ukraine war: Russia is fixing weapons with fridge and dishwasher parts - US official

Russia has been forced to use computer chips from dishwashers and refrigerators in its military hardware as a result of western sanctions, a top US official has said.

Gina Raimondo, the commerce secretary, said: "We have reports from Ukrainians that when they find Russian military equipment on the ground, it's filled with semiconductors that they took out of dishwashers and refrigerators."

Technology experts have estimated exports to Russia have slumped by nearly 70 per cent since the introduction of sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Almost 30 western nations have adopted similar punitive measures against Moscow, making it virtually impossible for the Kremlin's armed forces to secure the required components to fix their battle-weakened military machines.

Russian tank factories forced to close

During a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Raimondo also claimed two Russian tank factories have been forced to shut down because of a lack of components.

The US and European nations had already limited the sale of computer chips to Russia in the wake of its illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, the west has further tightened its rules for so-called "dual-use" products, with military and commercial applications, being shipped to Russia.

Previous studies into Russia's military modernisation showed the Kremlin relied on western electronics to bring its force into the 21st century.

Defence analysts dissecting a downed Russian drone from the battlefield in Ukraine found a western-made consumer SLR camera inside, which the experts said had likely been smuggled into Russia from the west.