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  • ✇Euromaidan Press
  • China secretly supplies Russia with drone engines disguised as refrigeration equipment
    Beijing continues fueling Russia’s war against Ukraine. Chinese companies are supplying engines for attack drones through front companies, falsely labeling them as “industrial refrigeration units” to bypass Western sanctions, Reuters reports. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi openly says Beijing, Moscow’s top economic ally, cannot allow Russia to lose in its war against Ukraine. China fears that such an outcome would allow the US to fully pivot its attention to Beijing. According to the report, R
     

China secretly supplies Russia with drone engines disguised as refrigeration equipment

24 juillet 2025 à 11:42

Russia attacks on Ukrainian civilians

Beijing continues fueling Russia’s war against Ukraine. Chinese companies are supplying engines for attack drones through front companies, falsely labeling them as “industrial refrigeration units” to bypass Western sanctions, Reuters reports.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi openly says Beijing, Moscow’s top economic ally, cannot allow Russia to lose in its war against Ukraine. China fears that such an outcome would allow the US to fully pivot its attention to Beijing.

According to the report, Russian arms producer IEMZ Kupol signed a contract with Russia’s Ministry of Defense to manufacture over 6,000 Garpia-A1 drones in 2025, which is three times more than the previous year.

By April, over 1,500 drones had already been assembled and were being launched en masse against Ukrainian military and civilian targets, up to 500 per month, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence.

A key component of the Garpia drone is the Chinese L550E engine produced by Xiamen Limbach Aviation Engine Co. After sanctions were imposed on Xiamen, a new Chinese firm, Beijing Xichao International Technology and Trade, began delivering the same engines to Russia.

In shipping documents, they were labeled as cooling units, enabling unimpeded transfer in violation of sanctions.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented 232 civilian deaths and 1,343 injuries in June 2025, marking the highest monthly casualty toll in three years as Russian forces launched ten times more missile strikes and drone attacks than in June 2024.

The supply route ran through a network of shell companies: from Beijing to Moscow, and then to Izhevsk, where the Kupol plant is located. According to sources in three EU intelligence services, the shipments first went to a firm called SMP-138, then to another company, LIBSS, which delivered the engines directly to the factory. This is how “refrigerators” became weapons.

Despite repeated warnings, Chinese airlines, including Sichuan Airlines and China Southern Airlines, continued transporting drone components since at least October 2024.

Previously, US Army Europe and NATO Allied Forces Supreme Commander General Alexus Grynkewich warned that American and its European allies likely have only a year and a half to prepare for a potential global military conflict with China and Russia. The dictatorships may launch a coordinated strike in 2027.

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  • ✇Euromaidan Press
  • Czechia to probe firms accused of arming Russia
    Czech counterintelligence will investigate domestic companies allegedly involved in exporting machinery to Russia for weapons manufacturing. The Czech Security Information Service (BIS) says it will act once official information is provided, according to iRozhlas. Russia continues to exploit loopholes to obtain Western industrial equipment for its military production amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. Earlier, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused eight Czech and thirteen German fir
     

Czechia to probe firms accused of arming Russia

4 juillet 2025 à 09:52

czechia probe firms accused arming russia šmeral brno czech machinery plant factory productiopm exports rushka counterintelligence investigate domestic companies allegedly involved exporting weapons manufacturing security information service (bis) says act

Czech counterintelligence will investigate domestic companies allegedly involved in exporting machinery to Russia for weapons manufacturing. The Czech Security Information Service (BIS) says it will act once official information is provided, according to iRozhlas.

Russia continues to exploit loopholes to obtain Western industrial equipment for its military production amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. Earlier, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused eight Czech and thirteen German firms of continuing such exports, despite EU sanctions. A media investigation also revealed 12 Czech companies, still supplying machinery to Russia amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

On 21 June, Zelenskyy told reporters that Russia continues receiving machine tools from foreign companies, including eight based in the Czech Republic. He said these tools are used for weapons manufacturing. Though he withheld specific names, Zelenskyy stated he knows the companies involved and urged sanctions against them.

BIS awaits official list, doubts direct Czech exports

BIS spokesperson Ladislav Šticha told iRozhlas that Czech authorities have yet to receive any official list of the companies Zelenskyy mentioned.

“It is therefore very difficult to comment on which companies and goods are involved,” Šticha stated.

czechia probe firms accused arming russia šmeral brno czech machinery plant factory productiopm exports rushka counterintelligence investigate domestic companies allegedly involved exporting weapons manufacturing security information service (bis) says act
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Czech firms secretly shipped machine tools to Russia — even during war, investigation finds

According to him, hundreds of companies are attempting to export to Russia. Šticha added that many of the now-embargoed items were exported before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when such trade was still legal.

BIS believes it is “almost certain” none of the cases involve direct exports from the Czech Republic to Russia, as such transfers require a license and could not legally cross borders otherwise.

Third-country reexports suspected

Šticha suggested that it could be goods delivered legally before 2022 or re-exported via other countries. In some cases, companies may have sold products to “safe” nations, including EU members, not realizing they would be reexported to Russia.

Firms often argue they were unaware of subsequent resales, and it’s very difficult to prove otherwise,” Šticha noted.

Recently, Ukrainska Pravda reported that the Czech company Leseft International s.r.o., located in Ostrava, may have been involved in delivering components used in Russian rockets. Šticha declined to comment directly but confirmed:

“This company is not unknown to us.”

Sanctions evasion

According to Šticha, BIS handles dozens of cases annually where companies attempt to bypass sanctions by routing embargoed items through complex export networks. The agency cooperates with other state institutions and foreign partners to intercept such attempts.

Šticha stressed that the number of state experts is too small compared to the volume of companies attempting to skirt sanctions.

Last week, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský stated that based on Ukrainian-provided information, Czech authorities have found no indicators confirming the transfer of dual-use items to Russia.

Dual-use goods include products like machine tools, certain chemicals, or artificial intelligence-related software, all of which can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this. We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society. Become a patron or see other ways to support
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