Politico: Russia has imported 30 times more drones from China than Ukraine
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Chinese companies continue to supply the Russian Federation with non-lethal weapons. This year, the aggressor country imported drones from China worth more than $100 million, 30 times more than Ukraine.
According to customs records obtained by Politico, Russian buyers have declared orders for hundreds of thousands of body armor and helmets made by the Chinese company Shanghai H Win.
"Evidence of this kind shows that China, despite Beijing's calls for peace, is pushing right up to a red line in delivering enough nonlethal, but militarily useful, equipment to Russia to have a material impact on President Vladimir Putin's 17-month-old war on Ukraine," the article says.
China's exports of ceramics, a component used in body armor, increased by 69% to the Russian Federation to more than $225 million, and to Ukraine fell by 61% to just $5 million.
According to Politico, Russia receives more drones than Ukraine. The strength of Chinese exports of dual-purpose goods to Russia during the war is confirmed by customs data. While Ukraine is also a Chinese customer, its imports of much of the equipment covered in this story have plummeted.
Russia imported drones from China worth over $100 million this year, 30 times more than Ukraine. Buyers of DJI drones and its subsidiaries are companies called "Giganshchyna" and "Vozdukh." The other is Nebesnaya Mechanika, which was the official distributor of the Chinese company in Russia before the war.
A DJI representative said the company and its subsidiaries voluntarily ceased all deliveries and operations in Russia and Ukraine on April 26, 2022.
DJI said it had also severed relations with Nebesna Mechanics. However, the Russian company submitted additional declarations about the supply of drones to the Chinese company on September 15 and March 27 this year.
A search on ImportGenius shows that Chinese company Iflight continues to supply DJI drones to Sky Mechanics via Hong Kong through local company Lotos. The last batch was delivered on October 10 last year. An apparent anomaly is that Russia is indicated as the country of origin of supplies.
Helen Legarda, a senior analyst specializing in Chinese defense and foreign policy at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, said that China, despite all its claims of being a neutral player, actually supports Russia's position in this war.
According to Legarda, if China crosses the red line and sells weapons or military equipment to Russia, she expects the EU to introduce secondary sanctions.
But, she added, equipment such as body armor, thermal imaging cameras, and commercial drones that can be used in front-line offensive operations are unlikely to trigger a sanctions response.
China began to maintain closer ties with the Russian Federation after the start of the full-scale invasion. In particular, Beijing refused to join the sanctions imposed by the US against the aggressor country.
China and Russia share a mutual interest in challenging US dominance in the world order as their relations with democracies become increasingly strained. The United States has repeatedly warned China against assisting the Russian Federation in the war against Ukraine or assisting in the evasion of sanctions.
China also influences the Russian Federation. In particular, Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned Russian dictator Vladimir Putin against a nuclear attack on Ukraine.
Recently, the adviser to the French president, Emmanuel Bonn, said that China could provide military assistance to Russia in the war of aggression against Ukraine.
