Moscow ‘builds drones in secret Chinese factory’

Russia has reportedly established a weapons programme in China to build drones for use against Ukraine. These include a new long-range attack drone which Reuters claims has been developed and flight-tested by IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of a Russian state-owned arms company. In a report from this year seen by the news agency, Kupol told the Russian defence ministry it could use the Chinese factory to produce drones at scale to use in Ukraine. Kupol has reportedly received seven military drones made in China at its Russian headquarters; intelligence sources tell Reuters this would mark the first concrete evidence of whole unmanned aerial vehicles made in China being delivered to Russia since the start of the Ukraine war. Kupol, its parent company and Russia did not comment on the allegations. The Chinese foreign ministry told Reuters it wasn’t aware of the project.

China insists that it is neutral on the war in Ukraine, and has repeatedly denied supplying Russia with weapons.

The US disputes this; earlier this month Kurt Campbell, the deputy secretary of state and longstanding China hawk, said Beijing was making a “very substantial effort” to support the Russian military. Last week Campbell said the challenges posed by China exceeded those of the Cold War.

China is believed to be sending hundreds of millions of dollars of ‘dual-use equipment’, i.e. with civilian and military use, to support Russia’s war effort while skirting around western sanctions. But confirmation that China was sending whole weapons systems would be new.

Reuters says it has also seen a document that reportedly outlines plans to set up a joint Russian-Chinese drone research and production centre in China’s Xinjiang province. The news agency couldn’t identify who produced the document or who was meant to receive it.

Drones have become key weapons in Russia’s war against Ukraine, allowing both sides to target their enemy with precision. Last week Vladimir Putin said Russia was aiming to produce 1.4 million drones this year, a ten-fold increase on 2023.

A US spokesperson told Reuters that the White House hadn’t seen anything to suggest the Chinese government was aware of any transactions described in the agency’s report.