Russia is catching up with Ukraine in drone production, largely due to substantial financial support from China and the advantage of having production lines far from the front lines. A senior Ukrainian official told Politico EU that China is playing a role in the conflict,

China urged all parties involved in the Russia-Ukraine war to cool down the conflict in response to Kyiv's stunning Operation Spiderweb against Russian airfields, which destroyed a number of Moscow's strategic nuclear bombers deep inside Russia.

Beijing denies helping Moscow, but Russia is scaling up both the production and the sophistication of its drones.