Footage recovered from a downed Russian drone suggests Chinese involvement in supplying technology for Moscow's war effort, according to a senior Ukrainian commander.
"No surprise at all," the source told The US Sun.
The files, published by drone analyst Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, appear to show engineers testing equipment on a highway in Shenzhen, China, according to the report. Ukrainian officials say the drone carried a ViewPro A40 Pro camera, made by a Shenzhen-based company, with advanced zoom and tracking features used in attacks against civilians.
China has denied supplying weapons to Russia, but Kyiv has previously reported capturing Chinese nationals fighting with Russian troops. Analysts say the discovery raises new questions about Beijing's role as Moscow seeks components abroad to bypass sanctions.
"We know that Chinese tech is much more advanced than Russian tech; the question is, are sanctions biting, or is Moscow actively upgrading its drone fleets?" the source told The Sun.
Drones have become a defining weapon of the war, with Russia launching tens of thousands in strikes that Ukraine says have killed thousands of civilians.
"At the end of the day, China and Russia are not friends," the source added. "They're only helping Russia to weaken the influence of the USA and their defense of Taiwan.
"Xi [Jinping] is an altogether more credible opponent than [Vladimir] Putin. He's a master at playing the long game.
"There is close to zero military planning by the enemy [Russia].
"They have given up on that. It's just based on misery, on the killing of innocents, and Chinese technology makes them better at that."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.