Russian Forces Began Using Chinese-Made Type 56-1 Assault Rifles

Russian troops are using Chinese-made Type 56-1 assault rifles, a copy of the Soviet AK-47.

A review of the captured weapon was published on the YouTube channel “Vlad Kalina. Pro Zbroyu (About Weapons)”

According to the video, the rifle was seized by Ukrainian forces near Toretsk. It appeared to be new and still coated with preservative oil.

The first visible differences from the Soviet original include the thickness of the furniture, specifically the forend and pistol grip. The forend uses a different mounting system, which makes it incompatible with standard commercial parts without modification.

The receiver is marked with Chinese characters. Its cover appears to be milled, while the receiver itself is stamped and has a heavier overall appearance compared to the Soviet AK-47.

The bolt is roughly machined and made of a shiny material resembling stainless steel. The muzzle lacks threading, and the front sight is of the hooded type.

The rest of the controls and internal mechanisms are nearly identical to the Soviet version, though the overall manufacturing quality is reportedly poor—particularly the piston, which began to wobble after just a few rounds.

The weapon features a factory-installed automatic firing mode, ruling out the possibility that it is a civilian model retrofitted for full auto.

The rifle may have belonged to a Russian mercenary of a private military company, which often acquires weapons through third-party countries.

Chinese Arms in Russia

On April 17, it was reported that China had supplied weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery systems.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said the information had come from Ukraine’s Security Service and from the intelligence.

He added that further details would be disclosed in the following week.

Ukrainian intelligence services believe that Chinese-Russian cooperation also includes the production of Chinese-designed weapons on Russian territory.

During the Soviet era, China acquired a large number of Soviet artillery systems and the corresponding manufacturing technologies. Given their shared origin, Ukrainian officials say it is plausible that China is now supplying such systems—or their derivatives—to Russia.

This approach allows Russian forces to avoid retraining personnel, and the visual similarity of these weapons makes them difficult to identify without specialized expertise.