Chinese state-owned Jilin Chemical Fiber Group shipped 46 tons of polyacrylonitrile tow, the main raw material for carbon fiber production, to Russia, according to a joint investigation by Politico and The Telegraph based on shipping and customs documents.

The recipient was listed as Alabuga-Fiber, a subsidiary of UMATEX, the advanced materials division of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom. The plant is located in the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan, where drones based on Iranian Shahed models have been assembled since 2023.

Carbon fiber made from the supplied material is used to reinforce the wings and internal structures of drones, including the engine and fuel tank. David Albright, founder of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, estimated the volume could produce components for roughly 1,300 drones.

The shipment was likely deliberately disguised, the journalists noted: it was cleared under a customs code used for civilian synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester. Under correct classification, the delivery should have been treated as dual-use goods, Albright said.

The documents were obtained by the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center (USCC) from Russian sources and passed to the U.S. and UK governments. Their authenticity was confirmed by the Ukrainian government and the U.S. House Select Committee on China.

USCC said it had identified at least eight tenders for container shipments of PAN precursors from Jilin Chemical Fiber Group to Alabuga-Fiber since 2022. Alabuga-Fiber and UMATEX have been under Western sanctions since 2023.

Jilin Chemical Fiber Group has not been sanctioned and did not respond to requests for comment. Rosatom said it operates in accordance with the law and called the allegations false. China's embassy in Washington also rejected the accusations, saying Beijing "has never supplied lethal weapons to any party in the conflict."

Dennis Wilder, a former deputy assistant director of the CIA for East Asia, said shipments of this scale could hardly have occurred without the knowledge of Chinese authorities. According to the Kiel Institute, China provides more than 60% of the components needed by Russia's military industry.

Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on September 24. The journalists suggested the new evidence of Chinese support for Russia could increase pressure on the U.S. president from Ukraine.