Drone engines disguised as refrigerators: how China helps Russia

China continues to actively support the Russian Federation. Although there are no direct arms supplies, the PRC provides dual-use goods used in the production of Russian drones, including equipment, parts, and machine tools.

This was reported on the air of “Pryamoye” by military observer Denys Popovych.

“Everyone knows that China supports the Russian Federation in one way or another. And if there are no direct supplies of weapons now, then there are dual-use goods that can be used in the defense-industrial complex. Russia can thank China for the significant increase in the number of Russian drones that are currently being manufactured there. This is equipment, parts, and machines – everything that is needed to accelerate production. China does all this,” Popovich noted.

At the same time, he recalled the statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PRC that China cannot afford the defeat of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, they are now acting in this direction, in this direction, – added the military observer.

Popovich also commented on the results of the third round of negotiations in Istanbul, emphasizing that the key here was the exchange of prisoners of war and the return of the bodies of the dead.

“Now all this is happening, and it is very good that it is happening. And the exchange of bodies of deceased servicemen is right. Because any certainty, even if you understand that your loved one is already dead, is still better than complete uncertainty. And when a person returns home alive from captivity, it is even much better, and it is a joy for his relatives, friends and loved ones. This is for sure. And the fact that this is happening now is very good,” Popovych noted.

However, from the point of view of resolving the Russian-Ukrainian war, according to him, there is currently no progress.

“The Russian Federation is now advancing, and according to Putin’s conviction, it can succeed. And accordingly, because of this, there is currently no room for compromise. And any negotiations are the presence of a room for compromise. That is, these are the platforms where the parties are ready to discuss the conditions. And now these conditions are opposite. The Russian Federation wants defeat, wants surrender, and we, of course, cannot agree to this,” explains military observer Denis Popovich.

It was previously reported that China has been secretly supplying Russia with drone engines disguised as refrigerators . These supplies have allowed the Russian arms manufacturer, Kupol, to ramp up production of the Harpy-A1 strike drone. Despite US and EU sanctions, Kupol has signed contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry to produce more than 6,000 of these drones by 2025, up from 2,000 in 2024.

At the same time, a new Russian drone designed to deceive Ukrainian air defenses turned out to be made entirely of Chinese components . According to intelligence officials, this once again confirms the cooperation between Beijing and Moscow, despite official statements by the Chinese leadership about “neutrality” and the alleged absence of supplies of lethal weapons.

In addition, despite the sanctions, the Russian company Aero-HIT, which receives state funding, has developed a project to produce combat drones in cooperation with Chinese firms . According to Bloomberg, this involves mass production of up to 10,000 drones per month at a factory near Khabarovsk. Such drones are already actively used by Russian troops, in particular in the Kherson direction.

At the same time, European Union leaders during the EU-China summit called on Beijing not to provide any material support to the Russian military-industrial complex. The EU also stressed that weapons for Russian troops pose significant security risks in Europe and East Asia.

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