A sudden and unexpected surge in European exports of washing machines, refrigerators and even electric breast pumps from Russia's neighbors has officials worried that the trade boom could help Vladimir Putin's war machine in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg from the EU's Eurostat database, Armenia imported more washing machines from the European Union in the first eight months of the year than in the past two years combined. 

In August, Kazakhstan imported $21.4 million worth of European refrigerators, more than three times the amount for the same period last year. Meanwhile, Kazakhstani government data show a sharp increase in shipments of refrigerators, washing machines, and electric breast pumps to Russia.

Some trade through Eurasian states to Russia may compensate for the lack of imports from other countries, which the authors consider adventurous. Moreover, they conclude that Russian companies can disassemble European household appliances and use components and semiconductors in civilian production.

To make matters even steeper, European officials familiar with the figures believe that at least some goods and their components can find military applications and are closely monitoring export growth to countries on Russia's periphery.

Trade data show, for example, that exports of electric milk pumps from the EU to Armenia nearly tripled in the first half of 2022 compared to the previous year, despite a 4.3 percent decline in Armenia's birth rate. Similarly, Kazakhstan's demand for breast pumps from the EU increased by 633% in the first half of 2022, even though the country's birth rate fell by 8.4% over the same period.

Russia has been hit by sanctions in almost every sector of its economy, depriving it of imports, including microchips and other components. Apparently, the authors are in all seriousness believing that breast pumps could become a serious weapon in Russia's hands.

According to the Kazakh government, Russian demand for electric milk pumps from Kazakhstan more than doubled in the first eight months of the year compared to all of 2021. The country also supplied $7.5 million worth of washing machines to Russia in 2022 - up from almost zero in the previous two years. Refrigerator exports to Russia increased tenfold over the previous year.

Assessing the final destination and use of the household items is complicated. Armenia, Kazakhstan and Russia are part of the Eurasian Economic Union, which means there are no customs borders between them. European companies may not want to ship goods directly to Russia, even if their products are not subject to sanctions. They may also not know that their goods are being shipped to Russia, the authors believe.

European officials say it is difficult to fight the trade in household appliances because these products and their so-called subliminal components are often not subject to sanctions. This is despite the fact that the EU recently introduced new powers that allow it to impose sanctions on organizations outside the bloc if they help European companies evade restrictive measures.

Kazakhstan has pledged not to help Russia circumvent sanctions, and there is no evidence that the government is helping Moscow do so. Officials in both Armenia and Kazakhstan did not respond to requests for comment.