According to a story from the German magazine Der Spiegel on Friday, Moscow is in discussions with a Chinese drone manufacturer about providing it with self-exploding drones that may be used in Ukraine.
The publication claimed to have obtained evidence showing that the Russian military is in talks with the Chinese company Xi’an Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technologies to construct these drones on a massive scale for Moscow.
According to the article, the Chinese manufacturer has consented to construct and test 100 ZT-180 prototype drones before shipping them to Russia by April 2023.
According to reports, each drone can transport 35 to 50 kg of explosives. Bingo is supposedly going to take it a step further and ship parts and expertise to Russia so that the drones may be made there.
Contacted by Spiegel, the Chinese foreign ministry denied armament supplies to Russia but did not address the specific allegation on drones.
It underlined however that NATO nations including the US are “the biggest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine”.
The United States on Sunday accused China of considering arming Russia in its war against Ukraine, ratcheting up tensions as the conflict hits its one-year mark on Friday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS that China was now “considering providing lethal support” to Moscow ranging “from ammunition to the weapons themselves.”
