US: Israeli Accused of Smuggling Military Components to Russia

i24 News

A Ukrainian firefighter tackles a blaze caused by a Russian missile strike on a thermal power plant in Kyiv. Photo: Reuters/State Emergency Service of Ukraine

An Israeli citizen is among seven people charged by US prosecutors this week with smuggling sensitive electronics to Russia that could be used to make nuclear weapons.

US prosecutors say the group worked with two Moscow-based companies controlled by Russian intelligence to acquire electronic components from the United States for civilian use, but which can also be used to build nuclear and hypersonic weapons and in quantum computing.

One of those charged is Alexey Brayman, 35, born in Kyiv, Ukraine, an Israeli national, but residing in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The indictment, cited by CBS, says Brayman “repeatedly used his residence as a trans-shipment point to repackage sensitive military-grade and export-controlled items and transport them to intermediate locations in Europe and in Asia, from where they were trans-shipped to Russia.”

According to the Boston Globe, prosecutors believe the equipment may “contribute significantly to the military capability or nuclear proliferation of other nations or have the potential to harm the national security of the United States.”

The newspaper said the supplies smuggled to the Brayman family home included semiconductors, which are critical to the production of the ballistic missiles Russia has deployed to deadly effect in Ukraine. The export of the technology involved in the case is heavily regulated and took place in violation of US sanctions, according to an indictment made public Monday in Brooklyn.

“The Department of Justice and our international partners will not tolerate criminal maneuvers aimed at supporting the war efforts of the Russian military,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement announcing the charges.

The Boston Globe, however, reported that Brayman had posted a clip on Facebook of Ukrainian artists participating in the television show “America’s Got Talent,” which highlighted the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv, suggesting that the Israeli national-Ukrainian was not, a priori, a supporter of Russia, while his wife, Daria, appealed for donations in favor of a charity organization which helps Ukrainians in the context of the invasion.