Bloomberg reports: Allies believe China is developing combat drones to support Russia

Chinese companies are reportedly developing combat drones similar to the Iran-made Shahed drone to assist Russia in its war against Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on July 2, citing European officials familiar with the matter.

According to Bloomberg, Chinese and Russian companies are in talks to develop an attack drone similar to the mass-produced Shahed drone in 2023, several unnamed European officials told the news agency.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the drones have not yet been used in Ukraine.

Although China officially maintains a neutral stance toward Russia’s all-out war in Ukraine and denies providing lethal aid, Beijing and Moscow continue to build relations, underscored by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in May.

Various countries, including the United States, accuse China of continually supporting the Russian war machine in Ukraine by supplying machine tools, weapons technology, satellite imagery, semiconductors and other dual-use technologies.

“Here within NATO, we are making sure that we can disclose the fact that the PRC is no longer a neutral actor, and we are warning China about the risk of aligning itself with Russia in this unprovoked war of aggression,” U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith told Bloomberg Television.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the United States, denied that China was providing lethal aid to Russia and called on Western countries to “immediately stop inciting fighting and fomenting confrontation.”

NATO allies have repeatedly warned China against Russia with lethal military aid and called on Beijing to use its influence on Moscow to help end the war.

Iran has been producing Shahed drones for Russia since the start of the large-scale invasion in February 2022. These drones, which usually carry explosives, are inexpensive to mass produce, but relatively expensive to shoot down.

Xi and Putin attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Astana

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who missed the Ukraine peace summit in June, is also expected to attend the event in Astana, the UN in Kazakhstan reported on X.