London, Sep 7 (IANS) A Chinese state-owned firm provided materials required for making Kamikaze drones to Russia. The supply of the components was mentioned in Russia’s internal documents, leading UK daily The Telegraph claimed in a joint investigation done with Politico. It mentioned that Chinese firm supplied parts to a firm connected to Russia’s largest energy producer, which made Geran drones used for carrying out an attack on a shopping mall in Ukraine.
The report revealed how a Chinese government company supplied drone-making materials to Russia. According to the shipping and customs documents obtained by The Telegraph and Politico reporters, Chinese company shipped 46 tonnes of carbon fibre chemicals to a subsidiary of Russian state firm Rosatom earlier in 2026.
The company that received the Chinese parts makes important parts of the Kamikaze drones. Chinese companies have been repeatedly found in Russian drones after strikes were carried out on Ukraine. However, the documents collected from Russian sources by a Kyiv-based think tank close to the Ukrainian government, the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre (USCC), have for the first time revealed how a Chinese government firm supplied drone-making components to Russia.
The documents reveal the transfer of a shipment of the carbon fibre chemical between the warehouse addresses of Chinese state-owned Jilin Chemical Fiber Group and Alabuga-Volokno – a subsidiary of Rosatom’s advanced materials and composites division Umatex, The Telegraph reported.
Civilian synthetic fibre exports’ customs code was used in the shipment, the documents dated 2026 set out “a full range of freight forwarding services, including cargo transportation, customs clearance, and cargo insurance” between the firms for two shipping containers carrying 46 tonnes of “of polyacrylonitrile tow (PAN-precursor) for manufacturing purposes”, The Telegraph reported.
Former US Treasury official Kerri Bitsoff said that the mislabelling of customs codes indicates that the company was hiding a more sensitive order. US-based Institute for Science and International Security think tank founder David Albright said that the right customs code would have mentioned that the shipment was a dual-use item for both military and civilians.
The Chinese government has repeatedly denied providing weapons to support Russia during the conflict in Ukraine. During his telephonic conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China will not choose to be a bystander of the Ukraine crisis, or “add fuel to the fire,” or use the crisis as an opportunity to gain profit. He said that China’s actions are open and above board on the issue, mentioned a statement released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
–IANS
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