In the Russian-Ukrainian war, both sides are using many thousands of drones, many of which are made in China or assembled from Chinese components. However, the Ukrainian military and volunteers have to build parallel import channels, in much the same way that Russia tries to buy sanctioned products through third countries.
Source. The New York Times reports.
In general, Chinese companies make money from supplying both sides, but Russian buyers often have an advantage because they pay more and place larger orders.
In addition, politically, it is more convenient for Chinese companies to work with Russian clients, the NYT notes, because the country's leader, Xi Jinping, maintains good relations with Vladimir Putin, they have agreed on a "boundless partnership," and the total trade turnover between the countries is growing rapidly.
"I have Chinese companies that say they hate the Russians, that Ukraine is the best," Andriy, founder of Ukrainian drone manufacturer Eskadron, told the newspaper, "and then I find their engines in Russian drones."
Direct deliveries of drones from China to Ukraine amounted to just over $200,000 in the first half of 2022, while to Russia they totaled $14.5 million. However, Ukraine has received millions of drones and components from China, but mostly through European intermediaries, the NYT reports, citing data from the customs services of Russia and Ukraine.
On September 1, China's Ministry of Commerce introduced export controls on high-performance unmanned aerial vehicles that can be used for military purposes.
This caused problems with the purchase of drones in Russia, Kommersant wrote. The supply of devices weighing 4 kg or more or with a maximum takeoff weight of 7 kg and a flight duration of more than 30 minutes has stopped. Drones capable of "carrying cargo with a drop function or with the ability to fix such a device" were also banned.
But the reduction in Chinese supplies to Ukrainians has been going on for several months, according to the NYT's analysis of trade data and interviews with more than a dozen Ukrainian drone manufacturers and operators. And Ukraine, which is losing about 10,000 drones a month, according to the Royal United Institute for Defense Studies, has to build complex chains of intermediaries to secure supplies.
Or look for components from other manufacturers in the US, Europe, and Taiwan.
"Today, we hardly use Chinese components because we see and feel that China deliberately delays the supply of any goods to Ukraine," said Ukrspecsystems, a company that produces reconnaissance drones.
Background. As a reminder, the Turkish defense company Baykar is investing $100 million in Ukraine. It plans to open a UAV manufacturing plant in 1.5 years.