Despite the Chinese Communist Party’s continuous denial of providing military support to Russia, the latest evidence indicates that Thailand has become a “backdoor” for China to export drones to Russia. Data shows a significant increase in the number of drones imported from Thailand by Russia in 2025. These goods mainly consist of Chinese-manufactured drones, transshipped through Thai middlemen.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the office of Skyhub Technologies, located on the 30th floor of the Chartered Square building in central Bangkok, appears quiet but serves as a busy channel for advanced drone circulation. Trade documents indicate that Skyhub Technologies is the second-largest importer of drones from China in Thailand. While most of the drones imported into Thailand are ultimately transshipped to Russia, the final destinations are not documented.
So far, Thailand’s role as a conduit for Chinese drones to reach Russia has been relatively unknown. However, an analysis of official Thai trade data shows a surge in drone exports from Thailand to Russia since Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Simultaneously, the quantity of drones imported from China into Thailand has also significantly increased.
In the first 11 months of 2025, Russia imported drones worth 125 million USD from Thailand, accounting for 88% of Thailand’s total drone exports, marking an eightfold increase from 2024. During the same period, China exported drones worth 186 million USD to Thailand.
Government trade data indicates that in 2022, Thailand’s drone export value was less than 1 million USD, with no exports recorded to Russia.
Amid multiple rounds of international sanctions imposed on Russia for its war in Ukraine, Moscow has been seeking alternative routes to bypass European restrictions. Following the exposure and restriction of previous transshipment routes through countries like the UAE and Kazakhstan by Western governments, Southeast Asia has emerged as a vital transshipment channel. In October last year, the EU imposed sanctions on two Thai companies for aiding the Russian military.
“The Southeast Asian region is undoubtedly worth monitoring,” said Maria Shagina, a senior researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies based in Berlin, who focuses on economic sanctions, standards, and strategies.
“The countries involved in transshipment may change, but the methods remain the same: using shell companies to transship via a third country,” Bloomberg quoted Shagina as saying.
Documents compiled by the trade intelligence platform Big Trade Data, specialized in providing freight data, show that Skyhub Technologies imported drones worth 25 million USD in 2025. The imported drones by Skyhub Technologies are from Autel Robotics, one of China’s leading drone manufacturers.
In response to inquiries about its relationship with Skyhub Technologies, Autel Robotics cited confidentiality reasons and stated the company has an “internationally compliant economic sanctions compliance system.”
Skyhub Technologies has not issued any public statements regarding its drone imports.
Another company, China Thai, located in the outskirts of Bangkok, appears to play a more significant role in the drone trade. Trade data shows that in the first 11 months of 2025, the company imported drones worth 144 million USD from China. In October 2025, the company faced sanctions from the UK for providing technology to the Russian military.
A source informed Bloomberg that Ukrainian officials have taken notice of this trend.
The Chinese Communist Party has consistently claimed not to provide military assistance to Russia. However, Chinese-made components in Russian weapons have been repeatedly observed on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The US State Department declined to comment on the transshipment of Chinese drones via Thailand. However, a spokesperson informed Bloomberg that the Chinese Communist Party has been supporting Russia’s wartime actions, supplying around 80% of the “dual-use components” used by Russia in the conflict.
The Russia-Ukraine war has been ongoing for four years and is still ongoing. Ukraine has reiterated on multiple occasions that they have discovered an increasing number of Chinese components in the weapons used by the Russian military.
On May 29, 2024, during his European trip, then-US Deputy Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell, revealed the true face of Chinese support for Russia’s actions.
He emphasized, “What I want to underscore is that what we see from China in supporting Russia is not a one-off, nor is it just the participation of a few rogue companies.”
“It is a sustained, comprehensive effort that has the backing of the Chinese leadership to provide all the necessary support in the background for Russia to reconstitute its military forces, gain capabilities in long-range missiles, drones, tracking battlefield movements, long-range artillery, and more. It’s a largely covert effort,” he said.
In April 2024, then-US Secretary of State Blinken directly pointed out during his visit to China that without Chinese support, Russia’s attack on Ukraine would have been difficult to sustain.