Ukraine Claims To Find More Chinese Components In Russian Weapons

Illustration of the Russian T-62 tank. (Wikimedia Commons/Glenn Jno)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian troops found more and more components of China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine, a senior adviser at President Volodymyr Zelensky's office said, as Western supplies were limited by sanctions.

"In weapons found from the battlefield, we continue to find different electronics," said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who is an adviser to the president's chief of staff on sanctions policies.

"The trend is that now there are fewer components made in West but more, it is not difficult to predict which components are made in the country. Of course China," he said via video call.

Previously, China had repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia since Moscow's completely invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The attack sparked Western sanctions, including sending military technology and using doubles such as microchips that could be used on ordinary equipment or weapons.

Meanwhile, intelligence gathered by Ukrainian experts from the battlefield and shared with Reuters stated that a Chinese-made component was found in a navigation system on an Orlan drone that previously used the Swiss system.

Experts also report finding Chinese parts in a firing control system in Russian tanks, which previously used French-made spare parts.

Reuters was unable to independently verify intelligence information, including whether the mentioned components might be meant for non-military use or whether they were transferred to Russia by a third party.

"We took (get) a lot of different stuff, made in China," said Vlasiuk.

Asked if Chinese companies had provided spare parts for Russian military hardware, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman's office told Reuters: "Throughout history, China has launched normal trade cooperation with all countries, including Russia, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit."

"Regarding the export of military goods, China as a whole adopted a cautious and responsible attitude. China's position and actions have always been like this," the office continued.

Vlasikuk said Ukraine could identify several manufacturers or suppliers and share the information with Western allies.

He called China North Industries Group (Norinco), China's arms maker, one supplier and supplier of the Xinxing Guangzhou Import & Export Co military as another, without mentioning what they had supplied.

It is known, China, which has positioned itself as a mediator, has said it is not interested in in fomenting the conflict as the Western arms supply to Ukraine has done.