PRC ramps up drone component shipments to Russia as fiber-optic FPVs reshape battlefield

There is strong evidence that China is supplying batteries and fiber optic cables used by Russian drone forces. As Russia’s summer offensive begins, it has launched its largest drone-and-missile strikes of the war, hitting 80 residential buildings and injuring at least 70 people.

Battery-powered first-person view (FPV) drones are central to this offensive. Both sides are deploying millions of drones, but Russia is increasingly and effectively employing fiber-optic FPV drones, according to The Washington Post. Unlike larger fixed-wing drones like the Shahed-136, FPVs run on Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. While slower and less capable, FPVs are cheap and expendable. Fiber-optic cables, which can stretch for kilometers, shield them from electronic warfare interference. As has been the case throughout the conflict, Chinese dual-use industrial technologies have provided critical support for Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

PRC battery exports to Russia have risen significantly – and are almost certainly used for drones

PRC exports of Li-ion batteries to Russia have risen sharply since the full-scale invasion. Li-ion trade statistics are hard to compare over time, due to substantial technological improvements (especially greater energy density) and rapid cost reductions over the past three years. Still, Chinese shipments to Russia exhibited the same basic pattern as other dual-use goods such as excavators, trucks, and more. After shipments fell in the initial phase of the war, China provided critical exports in the fall of 2022, after Russian forces began to fall back and as the character of the conflict shifted.

Sources: GACC, Author’s Calculations

While Chinese trade statistics do not offer detail beyond the 8-digit level, Li-ion batteries are mainly used for four purposes: electric vehicles, grid storage, aerial drones, and other use cases (such as consumer electronics). Russia’s battery imports are likely largely directed to its drone market, for battlefield use.

In 2024, Russia sold 17,805 EVs. Assuming ~45 kWh per battery and ~$115/MWh for Chinese LFP packs, EV-related battery imports totaled ~$92 million—just 28% of the $327 million in Li-ion imports from China. Given minimal grid storage and consumer electronics capacity, most remaining batteries likely support drone production.

Russia hasn’t installed significant battery grid storage, nor does it have substantial consumer electronic production. In fact, China is Russia’s main supplier of consumer electronics.

Given that Russian EV production is very limited, batteries for grid storage appear negligible, and that Russia doesn’t have a major consumer electronics industry, most Li-ion battery imports are