Chinese State Company Shipped 46 Metric Tons of Carbon-Fiber Chemicals to Sanctioned Russian Drone Factory

Shipping and customs records reviewed by Politico and The Telegraph show Chinese state-owned Jilin Chemical Fiber Group sent 46 metric tons of polyacrylonitrile, a carbon-fiber precursor, to Alabuga-Volokno, a sanctioned Rosatom subsidiary in Tatarstan, earlier this year 1234. The cargo was declared under a customs code normally used for civilian fibers like nylon and polyester 24. Weapons expert David Albright said the material should have been classified as dual-use and estimated the shipment could yield carbon fiber for as many as 1,300 attack drones 123. The Kyiv-based Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center obtained the documents and shared them with US and UK governments. The US House Select Committee on China and Ukrainian officials confirmed their authenticity, and USCC separately identified at least eight prior PAN-precursor tenders between the two firms since 2022 12. China's embassy in Washington called the reporting an attempt to "smear and scapegoat China" and denied supplying lethal weapons, while a Rosatom spokesperson said the company operates in compliance with applicable law 14. Alabuga-Volokno has faced Western sanctions since 2023; Jilin Chemical Fiber Group does not 12.