Russia is scaling up the production of cheap strike weapons powered by Chinese engines to target Ukrainian infrastructure, according to Ukrainian aviation expert Valerii Romanenko.
Speaking on the Fabryka Novyn news broadcast, Romanenko said Moscow is moving away from complex and expensive long-range missile systems in favour of low-cost weapons built largely with Chinese components.
Romanenko, who serves as a leading research fellow at the State Aviation Museum in Kyiv, stated that all engines on these new Russian weapons are imported from China without exception. He explained that instead of using heavy 450-kilogram explosive warheads to strike industrial targets, Russian forces are increasingly launching cheaper systems carrying 100-kilogram warheads.
The aviation specialist argued that Ukraine must manufacture equivalent strike weapons and identify where components are manufactured to disrupt production. He drew attention to the Deng Xiaoping logistics centre in Tatarstan, where he said a train previously arrived from China once a week delivering engines for Shahed attack drones, an operation he believes continues with jet engines.
Tatarstan, an industrial republic in western Russia along the Volga River, has developed into a strategic hub for assembling uncrewed aerial vehicles. Iranian-designed Shahed loitering munitions have been deployed extensively by Russian forces to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure and urban centres since the full-scale invasion began.
Calls to expose Chinese war support
Romanenko urged Ukrainian authorities to intensify international efforts to highlight that China is an active supplier of the war rather than a neutral party. While acknowledging Beijing may not alter its stance, he emphasised that maximum global publicity is needed to make clear that China provides Russia with essential equipment to sustain its military campaign.
The warning comes amid reports by Ukrainian news agency UNIAN highlighting how Beijing is gaining valuable military knowledge and technology alongside economic benefits from its partnership with Moscow. In exchange for economic cooperation, China is absorbing battlefield experience gained by Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.
Chinese troops training in Volgograd
According to European intelligence findings, Chinese military personnel have been training at a facility near Volgograd in southwestern Russia since 2024. The training grounds are regularly used by units of Russia's 8th Army, which has seen heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine.
The joint training program covers drone warfare, urban combat operations, storming fortified positions, trench warfare, tactical movements in forested areas, field medicine, and minefield installation. Beijing has expressed particular interest in unmanned aerial systems, as the war in Ukraine has reshaped modern military doctrines regarding electronic warfare and autonomous technology.
China has not engaged in large-scale combat operations since its border war with Vietnam in 1979, leaving the People's Liberation Army without recent battlefield experience. The State Aviation Museum in Kyiv is Ukraine's central institution for historical aircraft preservation, where Romanenko conducts research into military aviation developments.
