Russia ramps up imports of defence industry components from China, Ukrainian intelligence says

Russia has ramped up imports of equipment from China as tightened sanctions in 2024 have made it harder to obtain Western machine tools.

Source: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU)

Details: DIU has released data on 37 foreign-made pieces of equipment used by Russia's defence industrial base, including components from Almaz-Antey, a manufacturer of anti-aircraft weapons, and Uralvagonzavod, the country’s largest producer of tanks and armoured vehicles.

Uralvagonzavod imported Chinese machine tools in 2023-2024.

Ukrainian intelligence pointed out that Russia's defence industry continues to rely on foreign equipment, particularly computer numerical control (CNC) machines.

Payments for these goods are primarily processed through VTB Bank and its Shanghai branch, with transactions conducted in Chinese yuan.

Meanwhile, Chinese machine tools are equipped with German and Japanese CNC systems, including those produced by Siemens, Heidenhain and Fanuc.

"Uralvagonzavod and Almaz-Antey also use equipment manufactured by Emco (Austria), Grindex (Serbia), Hermle (Germany), Tos Čelákovice (Czechia), etc. that they purchased before the full-scale invasion," DIU reported.

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