Ukraine’s top intelligence official has accused China of providing direct material support to Russia’s military-industrial complex, a charge that, if fully verified, could dramatically alter international perceptions of Beijing’s role in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In an explosive interview published by Ukraine’s state-run Ukrinform news agency, Major General Oleh Ivashchenko, the acting head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SZRU), said that Kyiv possesses “confirmed data” linking the Chinese government and Chinese companies to the supply of critical military goods and technologies to Russia.
“There is information that China supplies tooling machines, special chemical products, gunpowder, and components specifically to defense manufacturing industries,” Ivashchenko said. “We have confirmed data on 20 Russian factories.”
This is the most direct and comprehensive statement yet from a Ukrainian official implicating China in materially assisting Russia’s war effort. The revelation comes amid escalating geopolitical tension and follows months of speculation and intelligence-sharing among Ukraine’s Western allies.
Since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, China has tried to portray itself as neutral in the conflict. It abstained from key United Nations votes condemning Russia, offered vague calls for peace, and refused to join Western sanctions. Yet China’s growing economic ties with Russia and now Ukraine’s claims of military cooperation are casting doubt on that posture.
In April 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly accused China for the first time of providing gunpowder and manufacturing materials to Russian weapons factories. He also alleged that Chinese nationals were involved in building Russian drones. China immediately rejected the claims as “groundless,” but Kyiv followed by imposing sanctions on three Chinese entities.
The latest intelligence, according to Ivashchenko, gives Kyiv a clearer picture of the scope and scale of that assistance.
“As of early 2025, 80 percent of critical electronic components found in Russian drones originated in China,” Ivashchenko stated.
These include microchips, communications systems, and drone-specific components, many of which are under international export control due to their dual-use nature—capable of serving both civilian and military applications.
Ivashchenko also pointed to increasingly sophisticated methods used to circumvent international sanctions and scrutiny.
“There are facts of product substitutions, deceptive product names; there are shell companies through which everything necessary for the production of microelectronics is supplied.”
According to the intelligence chief, many of these goods are shipped through intermediaries in countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and even Turkey before reaching Russia. These routes help mask the origin and destination of the cargo, making enforcement of sanctions more difficult.
The Foreign Intelligence Service has identified at least five cases of collaboration in the aviation sector between Russian and Chinese firms in the last year alone. These involve technical documents, spare parts, and joint manufacturing schemes that appear designed to reinforce Russia’s degraded aviation capabilities—many of which have suffered from sanctions and combat losses.
In six separate instances, large-scale shipments of specialty chemicals—likely for explosives and advanced manufacturing—were traced back to Chinese sources.
While Western nations have imposed sweeping sanctions, Beijing has stepped in to keep Russia economically afloat. Bilateral trade between the two countries surged past $240 billion in 2024, a record high, with China becoming Russia’s largest trading partner.
Beijing has sold everything from cars and consumer electronics to dual-use machinery and optical equipment. The Ukrainian government believes that a significant fraction of this trade directly supports Russia’s war machine.
Nevertheless, China continues to deny any wrongdoing. At a recent press conference, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated that “China does not and will not supply weapons to parties in the Ukraine conflict.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a trip to Europe earlier this month, expressed concern over China’s support for Russia. “Even if it’s not weapons, providing components, raw materials, and production support undermines international efforts to bring peace,” he said.
The Ukrainian revelations coincided with one of the most intense Russian aerial assaults since the beginning of the war.
On Sunday night, Russia launched a massive barrage of 298 Iranian- and domestically-made drones along with 69 missiles, targeting multiple Ukrainian cities, infrastructure, and defense positions. The Ukrainian Air Force reported shooting down 266 drones and 45 missiles, calling the event the “largest single-day air attack” since the invasion began.
Although independent verification of the numbers is difficult, the scale of the attack suggests that Russia’s drone and missile production has not only recovered from initial sanctions pressure but expanded—possibly due to outside help.
“If Russian production has ramped up significantly, and 80 percent of the electronic guts come from China, that’s a direct line of accountability,” said Orysia Lutsevych, a security analyst at Chatham House.
Ukraine’s accusations could have wide-ranging consequences.
First, they complicate any peace initiatives involving China, such as the one floated by Brazil and China earlier this year. Kyiv has stated that it will not accept mediators who are aligned with Russia.
Second, they put pressure on Western nations to reconsider their trade dependencies and policies toward Beijing. If China’s indirect military support for Russia is proven, Western governments may pursue new sanctions targeting Chinese companies, banks, and trade channels.
In March, the European Union imposed export restrictions on a handful of Chinese companies linked to military-grade electronics sales. These new findings from Ukraine could drive a second, more extensive wave of sanctions.
Behind the public statements is a covert battle between espionage agencies. Ukraine’s intelligence community has increasingly collaborated with U.S. and European counterparts, leveraging satellite imagery, intercepted communications, and trade data.
“China’s footprint is becoming more visible. What was once murky backchannel support is now material and traceable,” a senior NATO intelligence officer told.
Ukraine, for its part, has stepped up cyber and counterintelligence efforts to track shipments and expose intermediaries, many of which operate within seemingly legitimate logistics or tech companies.
With Ukraine preparing for another difficult summer of war, the revelation of China’s material support to Russia adds a new and destabilizing factor to the equation.
If substantiated by international intelligence agencies, these allegations could reset diplomatic relations between China and much of the Western world—and further isolate Beijing on the global stage.
