China and India aid Russia’s battlefield effort though direct supplies: report

China and India have once again been found to be aiding Russia’s war effort by disregarding or even evading Western sanctions, including by using front companies, Reuters found this week. 

Both nations have long come under international scrutiny for their refusal to condemn the illegal war and their high purchase rates of Russian oil, which is Moscow’s number-one export and, in extension, aids Russia’s war coffers. 

But both nations were also found to be directly contributing to Russia’s fighting power on the battlefield, including through a $1.4 million explosive compound sales agreement between a private Indian company to two Russian companies, including a $1 million sale to explosive manufacturing company Promsintez, which has previously known ties to the Russian military. 

Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2024 BRICS Summit. (Photo by Maxim Shipenkov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

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Another $400K worth of explosives was purchased by a Russian underground mining company called High Technology Initiation Systems, Reuters found, though it is unclear whether this company is suspected of relying on dual-use technologies to aid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort. 

While the U.S. has issued hundreds of sanctions against entities across the globe over their support or involvement in Russia’s war effort, the majority of U.S. sanctions appear to have targeted Chinese individuals and companies, though this does not seem to have deterred Beijing’s ongoing support for Moscow. 

Chinese-made engines used for Russia’s drone production were found to have been shipped to Russian weapons-maker IEMZ Kupol to increase its production of the Garpiya-A1 attack drone.

 An infographic titled “Russia’s crude oil exports” created in Istanbul, Turkiye, on February 26, 2025.  (Muhammed Ali Yigit/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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But according to Reuters, the shipments from Beijing Xichao International Technology and Trade, were made under the description of “industrial refrigeration units” to avoid Western sanctions implemented in October 2024, in an effort to break up drone-based supply chains, which Russia has heavily relied on in its war in Ukraine.

Kupol reportedly signed a contract with the Russian defense ministry to ramp up its production of the long-range drones – which have been used to hit civilian and military targets across Ukraine – to secure the manufacturing of some 6,000 drones this year, up from the 2,000 drones produced in 2024. 

India and China have maintained that their companies are not violating their national laws despite Western sanctions, which both nations have also condemned, including the EU’s most recent sanctions issued this week that looked to target Indian refineries that use Russian oil.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy told Fox News Digital, “I am not familiar with the related details. Let me stress that China has always upheld a just and objective position on the Ukraine crisis and worked for its political settlement.

“China has never provided lethal weapons to any party of the conflict,” the spokesman added. “It exercises strict export control over dual-use articles and China’s scope and measures of export control over drones are the most stringent worldwide. 

President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of China Xi Jinping and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi are seen during limited attendance meeting of BRICS leaders during the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia on October 23, 2024.  (Alexei Danichev/Photohost Agency/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We firmly oppose the U.S. abuse of unilateral sanctions and ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ and will firmly safeguard its lawful rights and interests,” the spokesman said.

A State Department spokesman countered these claims, however, in a comment to Fox News Digital and said, “China is the major enabler of Russia’s war in Ukraine,” adding that “China provides nearly 80% of the dual-use items Russia needs to sustain the war.

“Secretary Rubio has said that ‘the Chinese clearly have been supportive of the Russian effort…they’ve been willing to help them as much as they can without getting caught’,” the spokesman said. 

While the Indian embassy did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions, a spokesman for the State Department said, “India is a strategic partner with whom we engage in full and frank dialogue, including on India’s relationship with Russia.

“We have repeatedly made clear to all our partners, including India, that any foreign company or financial institution that does business with Russia’s military industrial base is at risk of U.S. sanctions,” the spokesman added. 

U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, on the day President Trump announces a deal to get weapons to NATO, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 14, 2025.  (REUTERS/Nathan Howard / Reuters Photos)

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President Donald Trump has already threatened to employ 100% sanctions on nations that buy Russian oil if Putin does not enter into a peace deal by early September – a measure that is expected to impact China and India the most, given their reliance on Russian oil.

The Indian embassy in Washington D.C. did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions.