Zelensky: China Supplying Artillery to Russia — What’s Being Sent?

Ukraine has received confirmation of China’s arms supplies to the Russian Federation, including gunpowder and artillery ammunition.

This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky during a briefing, cited by the Ukrinform news agency.

According to him, the information came from the Security Service of Ukraine and intelligence. Zelensky said that more details would be available next week.

Ukrainian intelligence services believe that Russian-Chinese cooperation includes the production of Chinese weapons in Russia.

What kind of artillery can China supply to Russia?

Since China received a lot of Soviet-era artillery systems and production technologies, it is quite logical to assume that these systems or their analogs are now being supplied to Russia.

Firstly, this avoids the need to retrain personnel, and secondly, because of their common origin, such shells are almost impossible to distinguish without deep professional knowledge.

In particular, it may be a Type 59 towed field gun, which is a copy of the Soviet M-46 130mm gun. The Chinese version has undergone only minor changes, so it is visually almost indistinguishable from the original – without high-quality images, it is almost impossible to tell them apart.

The situation is similar with the Type 66, a copy of the D-20 152mm howitzer, which, like the Type 59, retains all the main characteristics of the Soviet model and looks almost identical.

The Type 60 (D-74), Type 54-1 (M-30), and Type 96 (D-30) can also be added to this list, all of which are of Soviet origin and have minimal external differences from the originals.

Moreover, D-74s have already appeared at the front line, as was reported in October 2024. During the Soviet era, a small number of these guns were produced, mostly for the needs of the allied countries, including on-site production under license.

These guns were most actively produced by the Chinese industry under the Type 60 index.

There is also the Type 59-1 hybrid, which combines a Type 59 barrel with a Type 60 carriage.

In addition to cannon artillery, China uses rocket systems, including the Type 81, a copy of the Soviet BM-21 Grad 122mm MRL.

These artillery systems may well be in use at the front lines right now, but their identification is extremely difficult due to their almost complete visual similarity to Soviet models.

At the same time, more modern Chinese systems could be recognized almost immediately due to their distinctive, unique design.

In addition, the option of supplying individual components, such as barrels that can be mounted on existing carriages, is not ruled out. In the case of MRL, this includes the possible supply of launchers.

Chinese ammunition in the Russian Federation

On March 3, it was reported that Russia began using 122mm artillery shells that look similar to their Chinese analogs.

These are 122-mm high-explosive fragmentation shells OF-56IM-1m, which the Russian army receives for use with D-30 howitzers. These shells bear some resemblance to Chinese products of the same caliber.

It is not yet known whether this ammunition is produced in Russia or supplied directly from China as part of the aid.

The OF-56IM-1m shells have a 4 km longer range than conventional 122mm high-explosive fragmentation shells.

A promise from China

According to Russian sources, the receipt of new ammunition has partially overcome the acute shortage, as the rate of production in Russia remains low.

The President also recalled that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he had a conversation with the Chinese leader, during which he received assurances that Beijing would not supply or sell weapons to Russia. However, new data indicate that this position may have changed.

Zelensky clarified that the situation differs significantly when Chinese weapons end up in Russia via secondary markets and indirect channels, compared to cases of systematic military cooperation between the two countries.