EU grows increasingly convinced Russia is producing lethal drones in China

The European Union is growing increasingly convinced that Russia is producing lethal drones in China to prop up the invasion of Ukraine, raising fresh questions on how far Beijing is willing to go to abide by its "no-limits partnership" with Moscow.

The mounting concerns focus on a secret weapons programme that Russia has allegedly established in China's Xinjiang province, which was first brought to light by Reuters in an exclusive investigation published in September.

The Reuters report described how a subsidiary of Almaz-Antey, a Russian state-owned arms company under EU and US sanctions, had "developed and flight-tested" a new model of a long-range drone "with the help of local specialists." (The outlet was unable to determine the identity of the specialists but saw documents that confirmed the transfer of the made-in-China drones to the Russian city of Izhevsk)

The European External Action Service (EEAS), the bloc's diplomatic arm, also received evidence from intelligence sources showing Russia had set up one factory on Chinese soil to assemble drones that could potentially be deployed to target Ukraine.

The drones are said to be designed for attack purposes, rather than reconnaissance.

The EEAS, however, is yet to confirm three crucial points of information: whether the factory is producing lethal drones, whether those drones have already been shipped to Russia, and whether Beijing is aware of Moscow's weapons programme.

Talks between the EEAS and Beijing are ongoing to clarify the situation.

"We don't have more than that. We don't have clear evidence of what's going on," said a high-ranking EU official, speaking on Friday on condition of anonymity.

"It's difficult to believe it's happening without the knowledge or