China is sending tools to help Russia create nuclear hypersonic missiles, which Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is using to threaten the West. This is reported by The Telegraph, writes UNN.
Details
According to the publication, Russia uses Chinese machine tools, tools, and electronic components to manufacture warheads and key elements of missiles. In particular, it refers to high-precision CNC machine tools, which Ukrainian intelligence discovered at the Votkinsk Plant – Russia's main missile production enterprise, which is under sanctions from the US, EU, Great Britain, and Japan.
This is where "Oreshnik" missiles are produced, as well as "Iskander-M" and intercontinental "Topol-M". "Oreshnik" is a hypersonic ballistic missile that reaches speeds of up to 8,000 miles per hour, can carry six warheads, and hit targets in Europe in less than 20 minutes. As is known, in early January, Russian troops already used it against Lviv – 65 km from the border with Poland.
The media established that China supplied Russia with technologies and equipment worth at least $10.3 billion, including microchips, electronic boards, ball bearings, piezoelectric crystals for radars and electronic warfare systems, as well as optical sights. Some of these goods are included in the list of 50 priority items, the export of which to the Russian Federation is prohibited by 39 Western countries, but China has not joined the sanctions.
According to trade data, Beijing supplied Moscow with at least $4.9 billion in microelectronics needed for high-precision weapons and Su fighter jets. In the first three years of the full-scale war alone, China exported $3.1 billion worth of machine tools to Russia.
Analysts note that access to Chinese machine-building capacities allowed Russia to circumvent sanctions, accelerate arms production, and reduce dependence on Western technologies. According to them, without the Chinese economy and China's role as a "transit link" for sanctioned goods, Russia would find it much more difficult to sustain the war against Ukraine.
At the same time, experts emphasize that the actual volume of supplies may be significantly higher, as some products are supplied through third countries with subsequent re-export to the Russian Federation, which complicates the tracking of supply chains.
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