How is Thailand helping Russia conduct the war?

China keeps reassuring the world that it does not support Russia militarily. However, more and more Chinese equipment is being found on the Ukrainian battlefield. A spokesperson for the US Department of State commented that China is responsible for the supply of about 80% of so-called dual-use parts. Such parts can be used both in civilian and military technology. Because of that, it is much easier to avoid detection and accusations of military support. However, states and their intelligence services can notice such patterns, and they become only more efficient at detecting them.

„In the 11 months to the end of November 2025, Russia imported $125 million worth of drones from Thailand, 88% of Thailand’s total UAV exports and eight times what it bought the previous year,” The Japan Times reports. „In the same period, China shipped $186 million worth of drones to the Southeast Asian nation, accounting for almost all drone exports to Thailand,” they add.

As government data shows, in 2022 Thailand exported less than $1 million worth of drones, with none going to Russia. The director-general of Thailand’s customs department claimed that the export of Chinese drones from Thailand happens within the boundaries of the law. Sanctions imposed due to the ongoing war in Ukraine require Russia to strike trade deals with new partners. Most of the sanctioned goods arrive via China and Hong Kong.

Nevertheless, Russia keeps looking for shipment routes to find its way around European sanctions. Southeast Asia seems to be its next region of interest. Western governments have exposed and accordingly sanctioned previous routes via the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan. Skyhub Technologies, the entity exposed for re-exporting drones to Russia, is listed as a car rental company. „It imported $25 million worth of drones in 2025, (…) imports came from Autel Robotics, one of China’s major drone manufacturers,” The Japan Times reports. Skyhub Technologies is yet to make a public statement about the drone imports.

An even bigger role in the drone trade is supposedly played by another company based near Bangkok, China Thai. As The Japan Times reports, it imported $144 million worth of drones to Thailand from China in the first 11 months of 2025. The company was sanctioned in October that year by the United Kingdom for supplying technology to the Russian military.

Western sanctions hinder Russia and its war efforts. However, the Kremlin keeps finding new ways to work around imposed sanctions and continues gathering supplies necessary for the war. The biggest offenders here are the main suppliers, like China, with whom a lot of Western countries want to stay in good relations. Without a real hit to the main supplier, Russia will just keep finding new routes to dodge the sanctions. It is up to the West whether it cares more about Russia not winning the war or their good relations with China.