If previously the Shaheds with which Russia attacks Ukraine were stuffed with American microelectronics, which were smuggled through Asia in circumvention of sanctions, now they are dominated by Chinese components. This is one of the signs that Beijing is becoming the most important supplier of the Russian military machine.
The Economist writes about this, citing Ukrainian and European officials.
China Crosses Line in Providing Military Aid to Russia
According to the sources, since the beginning of the full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, China has been cautious in providing military aid to the aggressor country, rejecting some Russian requests, and is now avoiding the transfer of large quantities of ammunition or lethal weapons that could provoke American or European sanctions.
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“It does not want the international condemnation that would come with too many of its weapons appearing on the battlefield. But there are signs that China has come close to that line and perhaps even crossed it ,” the newspaper writes.
Western officials say China has been providing Russia with various forms of support since 2023, including critical weapons components and civilian drones.
“Much of this is publicly documented in weapons residue analysis, open source supply chain tracking, and U.S. sanctions against Chinese companies. But, importantly, these officials also point to “small quantities of artillery ammunition and military UAVs” (drones), the publication says.
The author of the article notes that until now there has been little public evidence of artillery ammunition changing hands. In early 2023, Beijing considered providing Moscow with a batch of 122mm and 152mm shells, but there is no indication that it did so on a large scale.
Later that year, Ukrainian forces found Chinese-made mortar shells near Melitopol in southern Ukraine. It is unclear whether such supplies came directly from China or indirectly from third countries where Chinese small arms and ammunition are common.
In practice, weapons from China are far less important to Russia than Chinese components and tools, a European defense official confirmed, adding that Beijing is keen to test the effectiveness of its materials on the real battlefield.
— None of this means that Chinese-Russian relations are happy. Part of the Russian elite, particularly people in the security apparatus, are concerned about growing dependence on China, as well as Chinese espionage inside Russia.
For all the talk of friendship, Russia's security service, the FSB, is jailing Russian scientists for allegedly revealing Chinese secrets. Many of these people appear to have done nothing wrong. Their arrests reflect deep-seated fears and prejudices about China. But without the country's continued help, Russia's defence industry would be crippled, The Economist concludes.
