London: As Western supplies are constrained by sanctions, Ukrainian forces are discovering an increasing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in the country, according to a senior adviser in President Volodymyr Zelensky's office.
Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who counsels the president's chief of staff on sanctions policy, stated that "we continue to find different electronics" in the weapons that have been recovered from the battlefield.
The trend is away from Western-made components and towards more components made in a country that can easily be guessed. China, of course," he said over a video call.
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Since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China has repeatedly denied sending Russia military hardware. Following the attack, the West imposed sanctions, including a ban on the shipment of military equipment and dual-purpose technology like microchips that could be used in both civilian and military applications.
The navigation system in Orlan aerial drones, which had previously used a Swiss system, was discovered to contain Chinese-made components, according to intelligence gathered by Ukrainian experts from the battlefield and shared with Reuters.
The fire control system in Russian tanks that had previously used French-made components was also found to contain Chinese parts, according to the experts.
Vlasiuk stated, "We're picking up a lot of different stuff, made in China. China's foreign ministry spokesperson's office responded to Reuters' inquiry about whether Chinese companies had contributed parts for Russian military hardware as follows:
"China has established normal trade relations with all nations, including Russia, based on equality and mutual benefit, throughout history." "As for exports of military goods, China has always adopted a cautious and responsible attitude. China has always taken this stance and acted in this manner.
According to Vlasiuk, Ukraine was able to identify some manufacturers or suppliers and let its allies in the West know about them.
He listed military supplier Xinxing Guangzhou Import & Export Co. and Chinese weapons manufacturer China North Industries Group (Norinco) as suppliers, but he did not specify what they had provided.
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A Norinco employee who wished to remain unnamed stated that the company "is not providing military equipment components to Russia." Requests for comment from Xinxing Guangzhou Import & Export Co. were not promptly entertained.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the Russian foreign ministry.
According to the top US diplomat Antony Blinken, China has not yet "crossed that line" by giving Russia lethal assistance. However, US officials are closely monitoring events and are particularly concerned about so-called dual-use products, such as electronics that can be used in a microwave or a missile, for example.
According to a senior State Department official, "We and our partner governments are relentlessly focused on restricting Russia's access to key technologies that fuel its brutality in Ukraine." "We will keep taking steps to weaken Putin's war machine."
The State Department claimed that a satellite image reseller provided imagery of locations in Ukraine to entities connected to Wagner and its head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and that company was among the Chinese companies the US added to its latest sanctions earlier this week.
As a mediator who has positioned itself, China has stated that it has no interest in escalating the conflict, contrary to what it claims Western arms sales to Ukraine do.
Comnav Technology, a Chinese company, has been sanctioned by Ukraine for giving Russia navigation and radar gear that could be used to support Iranian and Russian drones and missiles.
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When asked if Comnav was supplying parts to Russia, a staff member responded, "Of course not." The employee chose not to give his or her name.
Vlasiuk spoke of a "ongoing battle" to impose sanctions on Russia and then close any gaps Moscow might use to get around them. "We see that there are a lot of examples of third countries continuing, willingly or not, to support sanctions circumvention," he said.