China has been accused of providing critical satellite intelligence to Pakistan and Russia, two of its closest allies, to assist in their respective battles against India and Ukraine.
During the May 2025 Indo-Pakistan conflict, which began with Indian strikes on terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and parts of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir as part of Operation Sindoor, China was accused of helping Islamabad with not only deadly weapons but also critical intelligence.
The Deputy Chief of the Indian Army (capability development and sustenance), Lieutenant General Rahul R. Singh, earlier revealed that China was providing live inputs to Pakistan during the conflict.
“When DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) level talks were going on, Pakistan was getting live inputs of our deployments from China,” he said at the ‘New Age Military Technologies’ event hosted by FICCI in July 2025. “Pakistan … said that we know that your such and such important vector is primed and it is ready for action …it was getting live inputs from China.”
According to analysts, this support was in line with China’s strategy to use Pakistan as a “live lab” to test its capabilities against India.
While Pakistani officials consistently refuted allegations of receiving active support from China during the conflict, they did not specifically comment on whether Beijing provided any satellite and radar support during the brief four-day conflict. On the contrary, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning downplayed the allegations.
Months later, China is once again under the scanner for providing similar satellite support to another key ally, Russia.
Oleh Aleksandrov, a Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Agency official, claimed that China has been providing Russia with intelligence to help Moscow launch missile strikes within Ukraine more effectively.
“There is evidence of a high level of cooperation between Russia and China in conducting satellite reconnaissance of the territory of Ukraine to identify and further explore strategic objects for targeting,” Aleksandrov told Ukrinform.
The official stressed that Beijing was providing satellite intelligence on targets, including those that benefited from foreign investment, as evident by a missile strike on a US-owned appliance factory in Zakarpattia in August 2025, which injured scores of people.
Meanwhile, a report in Ukrainian military news outlet Militarnyi on October 5 claimed that at least three Chinese SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) reconnaissance satellites had flown over areas in Western Ukraine that were struck by Russian missiles and drones.
The report alleged that the Yaogan 33 series of satellites, which include Yaogan 33, Yaogan 33-03, and Yaogan 33-04, were observed passing over the city of Lviv nine times between 0:00 and roughly 11:30 on October 4. The optical reconnaissance satellite Yaogan 34 later entered the area at around 6:00 and made seven orbits above it on October 5.
The publication stressed that Chinese surveillance satellites are not limited to western Ukraine, adding that nearly 60 distinct Yaogan series satellites equipped with optical, radar, and electronic reconnaissance capabilities have orbital parameters that would allow them to operate over the embattled country.
These satellites are positioned at a height of roughly 700 kilometers in low Earth orbit, which allows them to make one complete orbit around the planet roughly every 90 minutes, the report stated.
The Ukrainian military outlet, nonetheless, admitted that little is known about the actual capabilities of the Yaogan 33 satellites.
“It is not yet known whether these satellites conducted actual reconnaissance during their flyovers of Ukraine,” Militarnyi writes.
The EurAsian Times could not independently verify these latest claims. However, we understand that similar accusations have been made by the US in the past.
In April 2024, the United States alleged that China was supplying Russia with geospatial satellite imagery for military use, sourced from over 100 Chinese satellites. At the time, it claimed that this intelligence was used by Russia to monitor NATO troop movements and conduct targeted strikes in Ukraine.
China, on its part, denies direct military involvement in the Ukraine conflict, emphasizing a “no-limits” partnership with Russia as economic and diplomatic only. This is very similar to the line it took when probed about providing satellite intelligence support to Pakistan.
When probed by reporters about Beijing’s support for Pakistan, Mao Ning said, “I am not familiar with the specifics you mentioned. Let me say that China and Pakistan are close neighbours, enjoying a traditional friendship. Defence and security cooperation is part of the normal cooperation between the two countries and does not target any third party.”
This essentially indicates that China’s military support to its allies, Pakistan and Russia, is advancing (or creating) ambiguity.
That said, China would not be the only one to provide intelligence support to one of the combatants of the Ukraine War. Latest media reports have indicated that the US has decided to provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets deep inside Russia.
However, Russia maintains that the US already transmits intelligence to Ukraine regularly online by making use of NATO infrastructure.
Is China Supporting Russia’s War?
Since February 2022, China has formally remained neutral in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, avoiding votes at the UN denouncing the conflict and presenting itself as a possible mediator.
Nonetheless, Beijing has been accused by Western countries, Ukraine, and independent analysts of providing Moscow substantial but covert help, mostly through dual-use technologies, economic channels, and, more recently, information sharing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly alleged that China supplies Russia with gunpowder, weapon components, and intelligence, potentially including production of arms on Russian soil.
US intelligence officials have alleged in the past that China supplies vital parts for Russian missiles, tanks, and airplanes, including semiconductors and drone equipment. A previous intelligence assessment indicated that approximately 65% of the components for Russia’s Shahed drones are reportedly manufactured in China, including their launch systems.
In April 2025, it was reported that China was supplying weapons and gunpowder to Russia, although no direct evidence was provided. Similarly, in July 2025, the Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate (GUR) claimed that all the components used in Russian decoy drones are of Chinese origin.
It was earlier alleged that three companies registered in China—Beijing Aviation and Aerospace Xianghui Technology, Rui Jin Machinery, and Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Xining—were directly or indirectly involved in the production of Iskander missile systems, a short-range ballistic platform widely deployed by Russia in the ongoing war.
Russia has also been spotted using Chinese equipment against Ukraine. For instance, it was believed to be shooting down Ukrainian drones with a brand-new Chinese laser system in May 2025. Seen in a video uploaded to Telegram, the system appears to be very similar to one that Beijing has reportedly already provided to Iran.
Additionally, Chinese nationals were caught fighting as mercenaries for Russia, with two apprehended in eastern Ukraine. China denied state involvement, suggesting these individuals acted independently.
In one instance, Chinese nationals in Kyiv were arrested on suspicion of attempting to steal classified military material associated with the Neptune cruise missile system, which sank Russia’s Black Sea Fleet flagship, Moskva. This was the first arrest of Chinese citizens for espionage in Ukraine since 2022, as also reported by the EurAsian Times.
Subsequently, a Bloomberg report published in July 2025 stated that a Russian firm, Aero-HIT, had partnered with Chinese suppliers and engineers to mass-produce combat drones now used on the frontline.
All of these allegations have been denied by China, which continues to assert its neutrality in the conflict. However, it has also made no bones of the fact that it does not want the war in Ukraine to end.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, on July 3 that the country cannot afford for Russia to lose the war in Ukraine, amid fears that the US would shift focus towards Beijing.
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