China has become the most important enabler of Russia’s war machine
It has crossed the line into providing lethal aid
THE DRONES fly thick and fast towards Kyiv these days. Almost 500 were fired in a recent Russian attack on Ukraine’s capital, in the early hours of June 10th. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, fears that at current rates of production Russia may soon be able to launch raids that involve twice the number of machines. To pick through the debris and peer inside those weapons is to come face to face with a grim reality. China is the most important—perhaps decisive—enabler of Russia’s war machine.
Explore more
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Clues in the wreckage”
From the June 21st 2025 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
Why so many Chinese are drowning in debt
Some contemplate suicide. Others vaunt their folly as influencers
Leung Kwok-hung, Hong Kong’s shaggy agitator for democracy
His League of Social Democrats, the territory’s last pro-democracy party, disbanded this week
Beware tomes of Chinese political gossip!
Our new number-crunching on reading banned books
Hong Kong’s last functioning pro-democracy party disbands
A long campaign against dissent crushes a final few democrats
China’s growth targets cause headaches—even when met
Local officials wrestle with competing incentives
China’s giant new gamble with digital IDs
They could change its internet for good and turbocharge AI efforts