EU has ‘conclusive’ proof of armed drones for Russia being made in China: sources

The European Union has “conclusive” evidence that armed drones are being produced for the Russian military in China’s western Xinjiang region and has demanded answers from Beijing, several diplomatic sources have confirmed.

While it is unclear at this stage whether this was approved by Beijing, several sources suggested that it would be difficult to conduct business of this nature without the go-ahead from the central government.

Multiple EU diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the evidence was “credible” and “convincing”, and that there would need to be serious consequences for Beijing.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China has maintained that it is neutral and not a party to the war. Several sources said the new evidence showed that Beijing was definitively on Moscow’s side and could no longer claim neutrality in the conflict.

For the whole of the war’s duration, the EU has urged China to condemn Russia’s invasion and insisted that providing military support to Moscow would be a “red line”.

While there have long been concerns about China’s provision to Russia of Western-sanctioned dual-use items – that is, those with both civilian and military uses – the direct supply of arms would take the support to a new level, sources said.