China’s foreign ministry said it was unaware of any collaboration with Russia, reiterating that Beijing maintains “an objective and fair position” on the Ukraine conflict.
“China has never provided lethal weapons to any party in the conflict and strictly controls dual-use items, including drone exports,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Kremlin, Russia’s defence ministry, and weapons manufacturer IEMZ Kupol did not respond to requests for comment.
But documents reviewed by Reuters — including invoices and bank statements — show that Kupol received more than a dozen one-way attack drones last year from Sichuan AEE, a Chinese drone maker. The shipments were arranged through TSK Vektor, a Russian defence procurement firm already under U.S. and EU sanctions. Neither Sichuan AEE nor TSK Vektor responded to requests for comment.
Western governments have repeatedly raised concerns about Chinese firms supplying Russia’s arms sector, sanctioning several companies. In July, Reuters reported that Kupol was building thousands of Garpiya one-way attack drones using Chinese parts, including engines. Modeled on Iran’s Shahed drones, Garpiyas can fly hundreds of miles before striking pre-programmed targets. Kyiv says Russia deploys about 500 of them monthly.
Two European security officials told Reuters the small shipments of Chinese attack drones, coupled with the presence of Chinese experts, suggest Kupol may be seeking to expand production to new models. The exact purpose of the deliveries, however, could not be independently confirmed.
Samuel Bendett, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security, said China has become “a vital part of Russia’s military supply chain.”
“There is just such an enormous role and influence of Chinese components in Russian military systems — especially drones,” he said.
Deliveries of Chinese Attack Drones
A letter from TSK Vektor to Kupol, reviewed by Reuters, billed Kupol for more than half a dozen AEE-made drones in the second quarter of 2024. An AEE shipping document confirmed deliveries of A140 and A900 one-way drones, and listed other models — the A60, A100, and A200 — slated for dispatch.
Kupol reports describe test flights of the A60, A100, and A200 at Russia’s Chebarkul military test site in late 2024. According to internal documents, Chinese experts traveled to Kupol’s Izhevsk facilities to assemble the drones and train staff, before visiting Chebarkul for trials. Travel bookings seen by Reuters confirmed their departure from Chelyabinsk the day after the tests.
Although documents described the experts as employees of TSK Vektor, European officials assessed they were in fact AEE staff, citing AEE’s own technical feedback on test flights. An invoice later showed AEE billed TSK Vektor over 5 million yuan ($700,000) in mid-2025 for several A200 drones fitted with anti-jamming systems.
Second Chinese Supplier
Kupol has also tested drones from a second Chinese company, Hunan Haotianyi. A report co-signed by Kupol and TSK Vektor assessed the performance of Haotianyi’s HW52V — a vertical take-off and landing drone capable of surveillance and strikes — in the third quarter of 2024.
Flight records seen by Reuters show Hunan Haotianyi CEO Liu Mingxing and TSK Vektor drone chief Artem Vysotsky flying together from Siberia’s Irkutsk airport after attending a drone exhibition.
Kupol documents also describe visits by Chinese citizens identified as TSK Vektor staff, but European officials assessed them as Haotianyi engineers, noting their repeated presence alongside Liu during visits to Russia in 2024 and 2025.
One such visit aimed to integrate a new Chinese flight control computer and engine into the Garpiya drone. Letters between Kupol and Vektor describe more than half a dozen joint visits in 2024–2025 for similar work.
A final letter in late 2025 said Chinese experts would also work on a new drone, referred to as the GA-21. European officials believe the GA-21 is based on Iran’s Shahed-107, which can be configured for surveillance or attack.
($1 = 7.1086 Chinese yuan renminbi)
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