Intelligence officials say Beijing is supplying reconnaissance and Kyiv has imposed sanctions on a Chinese company said to be providing drone parts for the war
Liz Cookman
October 5, 2025
The Times
Ukraine has accused China of aiding Russian attacks by supplying satellite intelligence as Kyiv imposed new sanctions on a Chinese company it says is helping Moscow’s war effort. Oleh Alexandrov, a senior official at the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, said that Beijing and Moscow were working closely to identify Ukrainian targets. “There is evidence of a high level of co-operation between Russia and China in conducting satellite reconnaissance of the territory of Ukraine in order to identify and further explore strategic objects for targeting,” he said. He added that in recent months sites hit by Russian strikes included facilities owned by foreign investors. In August, a Russian missile strike on a US-owned appliance factory in Zakarpattia, western Ukraine, injured 15 people.
Kyiv has widened sanctions against Russia’s military-industrial base and its foreign partners. In his nightly address on Saturday, President Zelensky said that he had signed three decrees imposing restrictions on 33 individuals and 27 companies.
The measures target Russian drone and optics manufacturers as well as Shenzhen Weiliao International Trade Co, a Chinese company accused of supplying parts for Shahed-type drones assembled at Alabuga factory in Russia.
These drones, known in Russia as Geran, carry as much as 90kg of explosives and are used in daily strikes on Ukrainian cities. Kyiv says Chinese suppliers are helping to sustain the campaign.
Beijing has not commented directly on Ukraine’s allegations and has regularly denied accusations from Kyiv that it is aiding Moscow’s war. Western governments have urged China to ensure its companies do not support Russia’s war effort, but Kyiv says evidence points to growing collaboration.
Ukraine came under further bombardment overnight Saturday, with 500 drones and 50 missiles targeting the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa and Kirovohrad regions.
At least five people were killed and 16 injured, many of them in the western city of Lviv, hundreds of miles from the front line. Some districts lost electricity, public transport was temporarily suspended and an industrial park caught fire. The mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, wrote on Telegram that there were no military targets in the area.
Zaporizhzhia also lost water and power in some parts of the city. Zelensky said on X that Russian forces were targeting essential civilian infrastructure and urged Ukraine’s allies to provide stronger air defences.
Meanwhile, Polish police said that fragments of an object resembling a drone were found in the eastern village of Zaremby Warcholy and an investigation has begun. The country has recorded several airspace violations in recent weeks, including at least 20 suspected Russian drones crossing into Polish skies on September 10.
With no prospect of imminent peace talks, President Putin warned that any improvement in relations with the US would be compromised if Washington were to supply long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. “There were questions related to, for example, discussing issues with deliveries of new weapons systems, including long-range, high-precision systems like Tomahawks and so on. I’ve already said that this will lead to the destruction of our relations, or at least the emerging positive trends in these relations,” Putin said in an interview with state media.
Last week the US vice president, JD Vance, said the administration was considering a request from Kyiv for Tomahawks, but Reuters reported that it was unlikely to agree, citing an unnamed US official and three other sources familiar with the discussion. Washington is more likely to provide shorter-range systems or let European allies buy long-range weapons for Ukraine, the report said.
Ukraine has coveted Tomahawks for years, which have a range of up to 1,000 miles and would enable its forces to strike command centres and supply hubs deep inside Russia. It currently relies on Western-supplied Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of 155 miles.
Liz Cookman is an award-winning British foreign correspondent currently based in Ukraine. She produces on-the-ground reports, in-depth features and news stories from dangerous and challenging environments for some of the world’s most respected outlets.