Russia's state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom rejects report alleging Chinese firm supplied materials for Russian drone production

Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation has firmly rejected reports that claimed that its subsidiary had engaged in illegal procurement practices

Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation has firmly rejected reports that claimed that its subsidiary had engaged in illegal procurement practices to receive carbon-fibre precursor materials for drone manufacturing, asserting that all of its operations strictly adhere to regulatory standards. “Rosatom and its enterprises operate in full compliance with applicable laws and regulatory requirements. Any claim to the contrary is false and demonstrates a lack of understanding of how Russia’s customs authorities operate,” Rosatom said in an official statement.

The statement follows allegations based on internal Russian shipping paperwork acquired by Politico, which reported that a Chinese state-owned enterprise, Jilin Chemical Fibre Group, supplied a consignment containing 46 tons of polyacrylonitrile tow to Rosatom's subsidiary, the Alabuga-Volokno facility in Russia's Tatarstan region. Politico had reported that , the records, evaluated by Western administrations, present direct indications of a Chinese state firm maintaining assistance towards a penalised entity inside the Kremlin's military-industrial apparatus.The trade manifests demonstrate that the Chinese organisation concealed a consignment containing 46 tons of carbon-fibre precursors delivered to a subsidiary of Russia's Rosatom earlier this year. This enterprise manufactures fundamental parts for the long-range explosive drones deployed by Moscow during an assault against a central Ukrainian shopping centre in August, resulting in at least 16 fatalities, Politico reported.

Data analysed by Politico indicated that Jilin Chemical Fibre Group executed multiple tenders transporting precursors to the Alabuga-Volokno facility located inside Russia's Tatarstan region, where high-grade carbon-fibre is fabricated for unmanned aerial systems. According to Politico, the US House Select Committee on China verified the legitimacy of the documentation, while the Ukrainian administration confirmed its authenticity. (ANI)