Chinese Components Increasingly Found in Russian Weapons, According to Ukraine

“We continue to find various electronic components in weapons recovered from battlefields,” said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an advisor to the president’s chief of staff on sanctions policy. “The current trend shows a decrease in Western-made components, but an increase in components from an easily identifiable country. Obviously, China,” he added.

Chinese Elements in Russian Drones and Tanks

Ukrainian specialists have identified Chinese components in an Orlan aerial drone navigation system, which previously used a Swiss system. They also detected Chinese parts in the fire control system of Russian tanks, which were previously equipped with French parts.

China has consistently denied supplying military equipment to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This invasion led to Western sanctions, including on the shipment of military and dual-use technologies, such as microprocessors that can be used in civilian devices or weapons.

“We find many elements made in China,” said Vlasiuk.

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Are Chinese Companies Supplying Parts for Russian Military Equipment?

In response to the question of whether Chinese companies had supplied parts for Russian military equipment, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters: “China has always adopted a cautious and responsible attitude towards the export of military items. China’s position and actions have always been like this.”

Vlasiuk said that Ukraine was able to identify certain manufacturers or suppliers and share this information with Western allies. He mentioned China North Industries Group (Norinco), a Chinese weapons manufacturer, and military supplier Xinxing Guangzhou Import & Export Co, without specifying what they had provided.

An employee of Norinco, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the company “does not supply military equipment components to Russia.” Xinxing Guangzhou Import & Export Co did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US Closely Monitoring the Situation

Last month, US diplomat Antony Blinken said that China had not yet “crossed the line” in providing military aid to Russia. However, US officials are closely following developments and are particularly concerned about so-called dual-use products, such as electronic components that can be used in a microwave oven or a missile.

“We and our partner governments are firmly focused on restricting Russia’s access to key technologies that fuel its brutality in Ukraine,” said a senior US State Department official. “We will continue to take action to weaken Putin’s war machine.”

Earlier this week, the US added Chinese companies to its latest sanctions, including a satellite imagery reseller that, according to the State Department, provided images of sites in Ukraine to entities affiliated with Wagner and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

China, positioning itself as a mediator, said it was not interested in fueling the conflict, unlike Western arms supplies to Ukraine. Ukraine imposed sanctions on Chinese company Comnav Technology for supplying navigation and radar equipment to Russia, which could be used to support Russian and Iranian drones and missiles. A Comnav employee, asked whether the company was supplying components to Russia, replied: “No, of course not.” The employee declined to give their name.

Vlasiuk described a “constant struggle” to impose sanctions on Russia and then close the loopholes that Moscow would find to bypass them. “We see that there are many examples of third countries that continue, willingly or not, to support the circumvention of sanctions,” he said.