China has significantly increased the supply of fiber optics and batteries for Russian drones – The Washington Post

According to The Washington Post, China significantly increased exports to Russia of components needed for the production of fiber-optic drones in the summer of 2025. In particular, this primarily concerns fiber-optic cables and lithium-ion batteries.

According to the publication, according to customs statistics of the PRC, in May and June, 190,400 km and 208,000 km of optical fiber were delivered to Russia, respectively, and in August — already 524,800 km. Analysts, referred to by WP, believe that this is a military product, in particular due to the high cost of the batches. For comparison, only 116 kilometers of optical fiber were delivered to Ukraine during this period.

Although Beijing officially declares neutrality in Russia’s war against Ukraine and has reduced direct exports of finished drones, Chinese companies — which control 80% of the global commercial drone market — continue to supply Russia with key drone components. This, in turn, allows Russian manufacturers to create more drones controlled via thin fiber-optic cables that are not vulnerable to electronic warfare.

Also, exports of lithium-ion batteries from China to Russia increased sharply in the summer — in June it reached a record $54 million, after which it decreased slightly to $47 million in August.

According to analysts, these batteries were probably used specifically for the production of drones, since Russia has almost no development of the production of electric cars or other electronics where these batteries can be used. For comparison, supplies of such batteries to Ukraine during the same period amounted to only about $11–12 million per month.

We previously reported that Chinese drone experts are collaborating with Russia on the development of military drones at the state-owned enterprise Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant (IEMZ) Kupol, which is under sanctions.