China developing and testing Shahed-like attack drone for Russia: Report

Chinese and Russian companies are developing and testing an attack drone based on the Iranian-made Shahed amid the war against Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday (Jul 2) citing anonymous European officials familiar with the situation.

The report mentioned that the companies held talks about collaborating to replicate Iran's Shahed drone in 2023.

Ukraine has often claimed that its air defence systems intercepted Iranian-style Shahed attack drones, but the Chinese drones have yet to be used in the war.

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China claimed that it had a neutral stand in the war despite Western officials saying that Beijing provided equipment and other aid to President Vladimir Putin's forces.

Theunmanned aircraft, which is under development, is called the "Sunflower 200", as per Chinese defence websites and media outlets.

Russia has not officially commented but according to the state-run TASS news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that "we don't react in any way" to the report.

As quoted by the Bloomberg report, Liu Pengyu, who is the spokesman for China's embassy in the US, said in a statement Beijing doesn't provide weapons to the parties of the Ukraine conflict. Liu added that China strictly controls exports of dual-use articles.

"On the Ukraine crisis, it is quite clear to the international community who is calling for dialogue and striving for peace, and who is fueling the fight and inciting confrontation,” said Liu.

"We urge the relevant countries to immediately stop fueling the fight and inciting confrontation," Liu added.

Watch:Ukraine's F-16s: A sitting duck or a game changer?

In connection to the report, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview on Wednesday with Bloomberg Television, said: "We don't have 100% evidence that Chinese weapons are shipped to Russia. The Chinese leader told me that he won't do that."

"Some components are there — like for drones. Some dual-use, they are probably there. But those are not only Chinese. They are also shipped from some European countries, unfortunately. And one can fight that. I think that if the Chinese leader wanted this not to happen, it would not happen," Zelensky added as quoted.

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos

(With inputs from agencies)