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Putin Tried for Years to Stop His Military From Using Western Parts — And Mostly Failed

Previously unreported details from an audit found a push to replace foreign components with locally-made parts in everything from submarines to missiles had fallen short.

A destroyed Russian tank near Izyum in eastern Ukraine.

A destroyed Russian tank near Izyum in eastern Ukraine.

Photographer: Sergey Bobok/AFP/Getty Images

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Even before sanctions cut off access to vital components and technologies for President Vladimir Putin’s defense industry, an internal Russian government review found years of attempts to reduce reliance on imports had largely failed.