China has come to send Russia 10 times more components for a weapon successfully used by Russian troops on the front

Although China's total exports to Russia have decreased by over 10% this year, some goods remained unaffected. And the deliveries of components for fiber optic drones used by Russian troops on the Ukraine front have increased significantly, The Washington Post reports, quoted by The Moscow Times.

This year, the Russian army has almost taken over the initiative from the Ukrainian armed forces in the drone war, starting to actively use fiber optical drones on the front line after completing the Kursk region.

Although in terms of retellistic such drones “low tech”, the thin cable with which the drones are carried out allow the operator to control the aircraft without fear of the enemy electronic signals.

Samuel Bendett, an expert at the center for a new American security, a Washington -based think tank, stresses that such drones are difficult to bring down and can cause significant damage. Specifically, they actually interrupted the normal supply lines for Ukrainian troops on the front line and “hunt” the civilians left in the cities on the front.

Why are analysts convinced that China's exports to Russia are for military use

Without China's assistance, the success of such drones would have been much smaller. According to the Chinese customs service, record amounts of fiber optic cables were exported to Russia in May and June: 190,400 km in total length, respectively 208,000 km. And in August, this figure increased almost ten times, reaching 524,800 km, according to The Washington Post, which analyzed the customs data.

Joseph Webster, an Atlantic Council researcher who seeks to increase Chinese exports, says that the high value of transport in relation to their weight, recorded from the end of 2024, indicates that these cables are intended for military use.

Fiber optical drones can fly up to 20 km. If used at maximum capacity, China supplies for August would be sufficient for 26,240 drones. China also exports fiber optic cables to Ukraine, but the level of deliveries is tiny by comparison: in August, it has risen to only 115 km of cable length.

Also in the summer, when Russia has significantly intensified its bombings on Ukrainian cities, sending over 500 drones in a single attack, Chinese lithium-ion batteries increased vertiginously, reaching a record amount of $ 54 million in June. Webster says batteries are probably used for drone supply, because Russia does not produce many electric or electronic vehicles – other key applications for this technology.

China's exports are seen on the front line in Ukraine

China has officially ceased the supply of drones finished Russia, but, according to experts, the export of the necessary components for them demonstrate its continuous support for the Russian military-industrial complex.

“This is very important, extremely important,” says Katerina Bondar, researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The Chinese play a major role here, because they are happy to connect their production lines” with Russia, she says.

The lighter and longer cables allowed the Russian army to expand their range. On October 5, the authorities in Kramatorsk, a Ukrainian city located about 20 kilometers from the front lines, reported that the locality was targeted for the first time by a fiber optical cable drone attack. Bondar says:

“If you look at how the front line changes, [Rusia capturează] territory in pieces equal to the distance that the drones can travel through fiber optic ”.

Meanwhile, China's total exports are declining this year. In the first nine months of this year, the decrease was 10.6%, and in September, sales in Yuani decreased by 21%.