Chinese Companies Reduce Sales of Drones, Their Components to Ukraine — Report
Chinese Ch-4B droneInternationalIndiaAfricaMOSCOW (Sputnik) — Some Ukrainians were forced to beg and smuggle drones and their components to use them on the battlefield due to the reduction in drone supplies by Chinese companies, The New York Times newspaper reported on Saturday. On September 1, the Chinese government imposed export controls on some drones and drone-related equipment. Chinese export controls could worsen the problems of the Ukrainian supply chain ahead of winter, the report said. «At night we do bombing missions, and during the day we think about how to get new drones… We’re examining every possible way to export drones from China, because whatever one may say, they produce the most there,» Oles Maliarevych, an officer in the 92nd Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. In June, the Ukrainian deputy minister for strategic industries said that Kiev was negotiating with Western arms manufacturers about establishing the production of weapons in Ukraine, including drones, and could sign contracts in the coming months. In late August, the newspaper reported that Ukraine was developing about six models of long-range drones, including those capable of flying more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles).