China is supplying technology needed by Moscow’s armed forces to continue the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine despite international sanctions and export controls, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Russian customs data.

Customs records show that China’s state-owned defense companies ship navigation equipment, radar jamming technology and fighter jet parts to defense companies owned by the sanctioned Russian government.

The dual-use equipment, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes, appears to come mostly from China, according to an analysis of more than 84,000 shipments, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing the WSJ.

Russia can still import such essential chips, infrared cameras and radar equipment from China and other countries that have not joined a US-led effort to block Moscow’s access to global markets through Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, Western officials have charged evasion of sanctions.

• Latvia accuses traders of using Turkey, Kazakhstan and Armenia to avoid Russian sanctions

In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for the US State Department expressed concern over “China’s alignment with Russia as Moscow continues its brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine,” the Kyiv Independent reports.

The statement was made after a telephone conversation between the leaders of Russia and China, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping on December 30.

“Beijing claims to be neutral, but its behavior clearly shows that it still maintains close ties with Russia,” a spokesman told CNN, adding that “those who side with Moscow in this unjust war will inevitably be wrong.” “. side of history “

The spokesman said the US and EU have warned China about the consequences of giving Russia military aid for its war against Ukraine or systematic aid for sanctions evasion.

On December 30, Xi told Putin that China is ready to “expand political cooperation” with Russia “to be global partners.”

.Russia continues to purchase Western components for Orlan drones through Chinese companies

An investigation by Reuters and iStories, a Russian media outlet, in collaboration with the Royal Joint Services Institute, a London-based defense think tank, revealed a logistics trail that stretches around the world and ends at the Orlan production line, the Center for Special Technologies in St. Petersburg , Russia.

Among the top suppliers to Russia’s drone program was Hong Kong-based exporter Asia Pacific Links Ltd, which according to Russian customs and financial documents supplied millions of dollars worth of components, though never directly. Many parts are microchips from American manufacturers.

The company’s exports from the Asia-Pacific region to Russia were mainly supplied to an importer in St. Petersburg, which had close ties to the Center for Special Technologies, these customs records show. The importing company SMT iLogic has the same address as the drone manufacturer and has many other connections.

Asia Pacific’s owner, Anton Trofimov, is a Russian expatriate who graduated from a Chinese university and has other business interests in China, as well as a company in Toronto, Canada, according to his LinkedIn profile and other corporate filings.

China claims that the US started the war in Ukraine

China’s foreign ministry has sought to blame the United States for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying Washington created the conditions that led to war.

“The US started the crisis in Ukraine and is the biggest factor inflaming it, and continues to sell heavy and assault weapons to Ukraine, which has only prolonged and intensified the conflict,” Ning, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, told media on Monday.

Her comments came in response to a question about US accusations that some Chinese companies provided support to the Russian side.

She condemned these statements as “unwarranted suspicions” and “baseless blackmail”.

The People’s Republic of China, an ally of Moscow, has not condemned the war in Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin launched on February 24 last year.

Relations between China and the United States further soured this weekend after an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States raised national security concerns.

On Friday, the Pentagon announced that a second Chinese airship had been spotted, this time over Latin America.

Beijing said on Saturday that the controversial flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States was used as a pretext to “slander” China, saying it was used for meteorological research and its trajectory was deviated from.