Russia has been receiving Chinese-made engines via front companies, labeling them as industrial refrigeration units to evade Western export sanctions, reports Baltimore Chronicle with reference to Reuters.
According to the agency, these covert shipments have enabled Russian weapons manufacturer “Kupol” to significantly ramp up production of its “Harpia A1” strike drones, despite sanctions imposed by the U.S. and EU in October.
An internal document from Kupol shows the company signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense to produce over 6,000 “Harpia” drones in 2025. In contrast, only around 2,000 units were planned for 2024. The same document confirms that more than 1,500 drones had already been delivered by April this year.
These long-range drones are regularly deployed to target civilian and military sites deep inside Ukrainian territory. According to Ukrainian military intelligence cited by Reuters, Russia uses around 500 of these drones per month.
European security officials, who spoke to the agency on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the material, also requested that certain details — such as contract dates and prices — not be disclosed publicly.
In a statement to Reuters, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was unaware of any exports of drone components for the “Harpia” system, emphasizing that Beijing monitors overseas sales of dual-use goods in line with both domestic law and international commitments.
The European Commission did not respond to a request for comment from the agency.
Earlier we wrote that Russia’s wheat exports to China collapse by 19 times.