In 2023, China supplied 76% of all imported by Russia machine tools, thermal imagers, optics, and communications, and used on the front. In 2021, it was only 41%. The EU’s share fell from 41% to 2% during this time.
China supplied 76% of Russia’s battlefield goods in 2023 – KSE
Chinese companies have secured for Russia all military imports — from thermal imagers and sights to protected radios and CNC machines. China’s share of these supplies in 2023 reached 90%, a study by the Kyiv School of Economics Institute has found out.
18% of these supplies are Western components that the Chinese resell through their companies. Another 16% are Western goods that are made in China, according to the report.
“By 2023—the first full year under the new sanctions regime—the EU’s share declined further to just 2%, while China and Hong Kong supplied 76% of battlefield goods.” (KSEI).
Russia’s military-industrial complex is an interconnected system of manufacturers, logistics hubs, and suppliers. To map this structure, KSE Institute conducted a clustering analysis of over 6,000 entities and 3,300 transport nodes, revealing how cargo flows—often obscured by middlemen—connect to specific firms and regions, the report says.
Russia’s imports from China reaching $115 billion in 2024
“China remains a key enabler of Russia’s military-industrial complex, providing high-tech electronics and industrial tools despite Western sanctions. Since 2022, bilateral trade has surged, with Russia’s imports from China reaching $115 billion in 2024—72% higher than pre-war levels. This partnership remains vital for Russia’s ability to sustain and develop its military capabilities despite ongoing sanctions. In a number of key component categories, China now operates as a near-exclusive supplier for the Russian market,” the KSEI concludes.
After switching to a military economy at the end of 2022, Russia increased imports of microcircuits, radio modules, and control boards by more than 30%. This technology is the basis for drones, radars, and guidance systems, former Ukraine’s economy minister and former president at Kyiv School of Economics, Tymofiy Milovanov, wrote.
Russia replaces Western components of its weapons by Chinese products – intelligence
Due to the US and EU sanctions against Russia, the Kremlin is increasingly replacing American components of its weapons with those of other countries, including China. First, Indian-made components were detected. Ukrainian intelligence has analyzed six types of weapons used by the Russian army in the war against Ukraine and found about 200 new components in them, UATV reported.
“Among them are the CRP antenna of the Russian Shahed, the North Korean KN-24 ballistic missile, the computer from the X-47 Kinzhal missile, as well as Supercam S350, Gerbera, and Zala drones. Only two American-made chips were found in the new CRP antennas for the Geranium-2 drone. This indicates Russia’s attempts to reduce its dependence on components from countries that have imposed sanctions against it,” the Ukrainian intelligence service said.
According to intelligence, new secure antennas with Chinese language markings were found in the Shaheds used by Russia to shell Ukrainian cities in 2025. In one such antenna, out of 15 components, only two are American-made; the rest are mostly Chinese.
“These are transceivers, generators, signal converters, and other chips. For example, the main chip of the CRP antenna, which analyzes incoming signals and decides which ones to ignore, is made by Beijing Microelectronics Technology Institute (BMTI),” the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reported.
The key player is Rostec. It is headed by Putin’s KGB ally Sergei Chemezov. He himself admits 90% of all military production goes through Rostec. The company has over 800 subsidiaries—they produce everything from guns to electronics, Milovanov wrote.
Other giants — KTRV, Almaz-Antey, Roscosmos, and Rosatom — are also massively purchasing Chinese sensors, machine tools, and microcircuits. Deliveries are growing rapidly.
Many of these companies are still not under sanctions. Rosatom is not included in most major sanctions lists. Even small equipment repair plants operate without restrictions.
Chinese electronics enable Russian military factories’ capacity
Russian factories are operating at maximum capacity, yet Chinese electronics continue to support them. KSE Institute data shows China regularly sends optics, CNCs, and special boards directly to Uralvagonzavod and Almaz-Antey. The easing of sanctions now is a green light for a new leap forward for the Russian military-industrial complex.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, China has publicly tried to maintain a neutral position and called for negotiations.
However, U.S. intelligence has repeatedly reported that since the spring of 2024, Beijing has stepped up its military support for Moscow. This includes the provision of intelligence, as well as the supply of optics for military equipment, rocket fuel, machine tools for the production of tanks, and other goods.
In September 2024, it was reported that the Russian Federation had launched the production of attack drones in China. On October 17, 2024, the United States imposed the first sanctions against Chinese firms for helping Russia produce UAVs.
EU’s concerns over China’s supplies of attack drone components to Russia
The European Union expressed serious concerns about the information that China is supplying Russia with components for the production of attack drones that the Kremlin is using on the battlefield against Ukraine. This was announced at a briefing in Brussels on February 27 by EU Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Anouar El-Anouni.
The EU representative emphasized that companies from China supply Russia with components for attack drones and, in some cases, even assembled attack drones.
“We are seriously concerned about reports that Chinese companies are supplying components for attack drones that Russia is using on the battlefield—or even fully assembled attack drones,” Anouar El-Anouni said.
Brussels does not digest the commercial ties that fuel Russian war operations. “China is the main supplier of dual-use technologies,” civilian and military, such as drones and components, “which support Russia’s military-industrial base, Kaja Kallas’ spokesman further charges.
“These technologies are then used on the battlefield” to fight regular Ukrainian forces and proceed with the offensive, El Anouni stated. They are assets with military applications,” he said.
The European Commission spokesman emphasized that “without China’s support for Russia, Russia would not be able to continue its aggressive war against Ukraine with the same strength”.
He reminded that “the EU strongly condemns the continued support of Russia’s aggressive war by third countries and calls on them to stop all assistance.”
China-Russia cooperation in drone production
The U.S.-based outlet Bloomberg reported, quoting European officials, that Chinese and Russian companies are reportedly working on a kamikaze drone modeled after the Iranian-made Shahed-class unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The unnamed officials said the companies first held talks in 2023 and started developing and testing a model this year. In 2024, a Chinese company unveiled the Sunflower 200, which bears a striking resemblance to the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone used by Russia in its war against Ukraine.
“Providing Russia a Shahed-like attack drone would mark a deepening of Beijing’s support for Russia despite repeated warnings from the US and its allies. President Xi Jinping has sought to portray China as neutral in the conflict in Ukraine even as western officials say it’s provided components and other support for Russian president Vladimir Putin’s forces,” Bloomberg concluded.
Estonia’s foreign intelligence said in its annual national security report published in February stated that China is helping Russia’s military drone production by becoming a hub for the smuggling of critical Western components for Moscow’s armed forces.
Some 80% of such components reaching Russia now come from China, it said. Previous Ukrainian reports have suggested that roughly 60% of foreign parts found in Russian weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine have come via China, Reuters reported.
China is Russia’s “primary hub” for importing high-tech and dual-use goods, evading Western sanctions, according to the report.
“Chinese interests here lie in preventing Russia from losing the war in Ukraine as such an outcome would represent a victory for the United States, which is the main rival for China,” Kaupo Rosin, director general of the service, told journalists in a video call.
