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6/20/2025, 2:28:02 PM
China has become the most important enabler of Russia’s war machine
It has crossed the line into providing lethal aid
1/?
THE DRONES fly thick and fast towards Kyiv these days. Almost 500 were fired in a recent Russian attack on Ukraine’s capital, in the early hours of June 10th. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, fears that at current rates of production Russia may soon be able to launch raids that involve twice the number of machines. To pick through the debris and peer inside those weapons is to come face to face with a grim reality. China is the most important—perhaps decisive—enabler of Russia’s war machine.
Consider the Shahed, an Iranian-designed attack drone which is now mass-produced inside Russia (the wreckage of one is pictured, in Kyiv). Such drones were once stuffed with American microelectronics, smuggled in via Asia to circumvent sanctions. The newest ones, however, are filled with Chinese parts. Those used this year have antennae made in China, according to HUR, Ukraine’s military-intelligence agency. One example contained only two American components, out of 15.
That reflects a broader trend. Since the start of the war in 2022, China has trodden carefully in providing military aid to Russia. It has turned down some Russian requests for assistance and equipment, according to Ukrainian and European officials. It has avoided large-scale transfers of finished ammunition or lethal aid that might provoke American or European sanctions; it does not want the international opprobrium that would come if too many of its arms show up on the battlefield. But there are indications that China has walked right up to that line—and perhaps crossed it.
It has crossed the line into providing lethal aid
1/?
THE DRONES fly thick and fast towards Kyiv these days. Almost 500 were fired in a recent Russian attack on Ukraine’s capital, in the early hours of June 10th. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, fears that at current rates of production Russia may soon be able to launch raids that involve twice the number of machines. To pick through the debris and peer inside those weapons is to come face to face with a grim reality. China is the most important—perhaps decisive—enabler of Russia’s war machine.
Consider the Shahed, an Iranian-designed attack drone which is now mass-produced inside Russia (the wreckage of one is pictured, in Kyiv). Such drones were once stuffed with American microelectronics, smuggled in via Asia to circumvent sanctions. The newest ones, however, are filled with Chinese parts. Those used this year have antennae made in China, according to HUR, Ukraine’s military-intelligence agency. One example contained only two American components, out of 15.
That reflects a broader trend. Since the start of the war in 2022, China has trodden carefully in providing military aid to Russia. It has turned down some Russian requests for assistance and equipment, according to Ukrainian and European officials. It has avoided large-scale transfers of finished ammunition or lethal aid that might provoke American or European sanctions; it does not want the international opprobrium that would come if too many of its arms show up on the battlefield. But there are indications that China has walked right up to that line—and perhaps crossed it.
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