On April 23, the European Union approved the 20th package of sanctions against Russia, which also affected Kyrgyzstan. In particular, the country was banned from importing CNC machines and radio-electronic equipment from Europe.
The European Commission explains these measures by analyzing trade statistics, according to which the re-export of dual-use goods to Russia through Kyrgyzstan has sharply increased, kaktus.media writes.
The EU believes that this contributes to Russian military production and is used in the war against Ukraine.
According to their data, in the first 10 months of 2025, imports of such “sensitive” goods from Europe to Kyrgyzstan increased by almost 800% compared to the pre-war period.
In the annex to the decision, the EU notes that despite negotiations with the Kyrgyz authorities, effective measures to prevent re-export have not been taken.
“The EU has activated the anti-circumvention sanctions mechanism due to the systematic and ongoing inability of the Kyrgyz Republic to prevent the sale, supply, transfer, or export to Russia of certain machines and telecommunications equipment imported from the EU and used in Russia for the production of drones and missiles,” the European Commission’s press release says.
In light of these events, it is worth noting that in early April, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov visited the state enterprise Dastan and instructed to start the development and production of domestic drones. How this decision will be implemented further is still unknown.
Meanwhile, yesterday Sadyr Japarov arrived in Moscow for a meeting with Vladimir Putin. The leaders held separate talks.
Earlier, Reuters, citing European diplomats, reported that the EU is also considering sanctions against the state banks “Keremet Bank” and “Capital Bank” due to possible assistance in operations with Russian crypto assets. Prior to this, they were already subject to restrictions by the UK, kloop.kg notes.
Kyrgyzstan has already come under the EU’s radar in the context of sanctions circumvention. Previously, Tolubay Bank, Eurasian Savings Bank, and the crypto exchange Grinex were included in the sanctions lists.
Grinex is a crypto platform registered in Kyrgyzstan, through which, according to investigations, fugitive Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor helped Russia circumvent sanctions, including through operations with the Russian stablecoin A7A5.
It was also previously reported that Shor uses infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan, including banks and companies, to carry out such schemes to bypass sanction restrictions.
