China supplies Russia with drone engines under guise of refrigerators – Reuters

Chinese engines are being secretly supplied through front companies to a state-owned drone manufacturer in Russia under the label "industrial refrigeration units" to avoid Western sanctions.

Source: Reuters, citing its own sources in European security agencies and documents including contracts, invoices and customs documents

Details: The agency writes that these deliveries have enabled Russian arms manufacturer Kupol to increase production of Harpy A1 attack drones, despite US and EU sanctions imposed in October.

An internal document from Kupol showed that the company signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence to produce more than 6,000 Harpies this year, compared to 2,000 in 2024. The document states that more than 1,500 drones had already been delivered by April.

Long-range drones are used to attack civilian and military targets deep inside Ukrainian territory, with Russia using about 500 such drones per month, Ukrainian military intelligence told Reuters.

It is noted that European security officials asked that their names and the names of their organisations not be disclosed due to the confidentiality of the information. They also asked that certain specific details in the documents, such as dates and contract values, not be disclosed.

For its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry told Reuters that it was not aware of any exports of parts for Harpy drones and that it controls foreign sales of dual-use goods in accordance with its own legislation and international obligations.

The European Commission did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

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