Telegraph: China helps Russia build hypersonic missiles, including Oreshnik

China is supplying Russia with equipment to build hypersonic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear charge, which the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin uses it to threaten the West. This is stated in the investigation of the newspaper The Telegraph.

The media reminded us that in January, Russians attacked the Lviv region with an Oreshnik ballistic missile. They attacked the area just a few dozen kilometers from the Polish border.

The hypersonic ballistic missile, which has been used in combat only twice, can launch six warheads in flight to hit different targets.

The newspaper learned that specialized machines and tools are used to create warheads. They are part of the $10.3 billion worth of technological and modern equipment that China has sent to Russia to help Moscow build military equipment and expand its arms production.

Russia said the Oreshnik missile could not be shot down, while Ukrainian officials and analysts warned that it posed a threat to the West.

The increase in production was partly made possible by one particular machine with a rotating mechanism that processes and cuts metal. This machine was identified by Ukrainian intelligence at Russia's Votkinsk plant, which is under sanctions from the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, and Japan.

At this enterprise, Russia produces Oreshnik, as well as Iskander-M ballistic missiles and Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The analysis shows that China has supplied Moscow with billions of dollars worth of components needed to assemble precision weapons and fighter jets. These are components that Russia either can produce itself or cannot produce in the required volumes. All of them are on the list of 50 top-priority goods whose exports to Russia have been banned by 39 countries, including Britain and the United States.

However, China has never supported sanctions against Russia. According to the American trade data aggregator Import Genius, China has supplied at least $4.9 billion worth of microchips and memory boards used in precision weapons and fighter jets.

Beijing also sold $130 million worth of various types of ball bearings, which carry loads, reduce friction, and provide movement, making them vital to the construction of airplanes and other vehicles.

In addition, Russia is known to be supplying components for radars, electronic warfare systems, and sights that are installed on weapons. Imports from China have allowed Putin to circumvent Western restrictions to build more weapons, such as the Oreshnik, to increase Russia's self-sufficiency and protect its defense capabilities from global sanctions.

Michael Coffman, a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, acknowledged that the best machine tools are made by Western countries, but "China is capable of making machine tools that are good enough for many of Russia's needs today."

During the first three years of the full-scale Russian invasion, China supplied Moscow with at least $3.1 billion worth of machine tools. These technologies cause much more damage than the hundreds of artillery shells sent by other Russian allies, the newspaper writes.

Chinese machine tools support the production of a number of Russian defense companies, including the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, which produces attack drones.

"The full scope of sensitive goods shipments between China and Russia is becoming increasingly complex due to the routes, shell companies, and intermediary logistics companies used by shippers to avoid detection," said William George, research director at Import Genius.

• On the night of January 9, 2026, Russia launched a missile attack on the Lviv region, after which it officially recognized the second blow from Oreshnik on Ukraine. The missile, as during the first attack on the Dnipro, was launched from the "Kapustin Yar in the Russian Federation.
• On January 24, the Deputy Head of the SZR stated that Russia plans to withdraw for the production of Oreshnik in 2026, but the effectiveness of such weapons is questionable.