Despite sanctions, China secretly supplies russia with drone engines

This was reported by Reuters, citing its own sources and documents reviewed by the agency.

According to the documents, which include contracts, invoices and customs documentation, the deliveries allowed russian arms manufacturer IEMZ Kupol to increase production of the Harpy-A1 strike drone, despite US and EU sanctions.

An internal document from Kupol, seen by Reuters, shows that a contract has been signed with the russian Ministry of Defence to produce more than 6,000 Harpies this year, compared to 2,000 in 2024. The document states that more than 1,500 drones had already been delivered by April.

This long-range drone is used to attack civilian and military targets deep inside Ukrainian territory, with russia using around 500 such drones every month, according to a report by Ukrainian military intelligence to Reuters.

According to invoices, an internal letter from Kupol and transport documents seen by the agency, after the sanctions, a new Chinese company called Beijing Xichao International Technology and Trade began supplying L550E engines to Kupol.

In a statement to Reuters, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of any exports of parts for Harpy drones and that it had controlled foreign sales of dual-use goods in accordance with its own laws and international obligations.

‘China has always opposed unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not authorised by the UN Security Council,’ the statement said.

According to three European sources, Harpy is based on Iranian-made Shahed drones but uses Chinese technology. Ukrainian military intelligence said that the Chinese-made components of the drone include the engine, control systems and navigation equipment.

Source: Suspilne, Reuters