This week in the Netherlands, the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO) is exhibiting Ukrainian war trophies — samples of captured Russian weapons. These include Shahed-136/Geran-2 and Gerbera drones, as well as foreign components found inside them. The organization is also presenting its research on the presence of foreign parts in Russian weapons.
The traveling exhibition began at Schiphol Airport in The Hague, attended by Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs David van Weel, State Secretaries Aukje de Vries and Eugene Heijnen. Representatives of the customs service — responsible for enforcing sanctions and monitoring goods to prevent their rerouting to Russia — demonstrated how sanctions policy works in practice.
Alongside the visit, NAKO held an exhibition of Russian weapons. “This demonstrates how destructive sanctions evasion can be — and why continued action in this area remains essential, together with our European and international partners,” commented Minister of Foreign Affairs David van Weel, who coordinates the implementation of sanctions policy against Russia.
As part of its visit, NAKO will also display Russian weapon samples at a sanctions-related event organized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at Purple NECtar X Innovation in Defence, hosted by the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands.
“Drones and microelectronics are the clearest visual evidence for all our research on Western components in Russian weapons. These items not only attract attention — they serve as a stark reminder of the war still raging in Europe, which could at any moment spread from Ukraine into EU territory,” said NAKO Senior Researcher Viktoriia Vyshnivska.
NAKO expresses its gratitude to the Presidential Envoy of Ukraine for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Examinations, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Netherlands, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands for their assistance in organizing the exhibition.