Ukraine imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia’s artificial intelligence-powered drone manufacturers on 17 August, targeting 39 individuals and 55 companies across Russia, China, and Belarus.
The restrictions reflect Ukraine’s efforts towards dismantling the entire technological ecosystem of Russia’s drone war, which has escalated dramatically in 2025 with Moscow launching over 27,000 Shahed drones and deploying new AI-guided models that can evade Ukrainian electronic warfare systems.
President Zelenskyy signed the decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, stating that the country is “working with its partners to ensure the synchronization of these sanctions across global jurisdictions.”
Russia’s AI drone revolution poses new threat
The sanctions target key Russian strike and FPV drone developers including Zala Aero, Smart Birds, and Vostok Design Bureau, as well as specialized centers developing AI solutions for drones, including Neurolab and the Center for Unmanned Systems and Technologies, according to the presidential decree.
These restrictions come as Russia has been deploying increasingly sophisticated AI-powered drones that feature onboard cameras and artificial intelligence, making interception significantly harder than conventional radio-controlled models. Separately, Ukrainian intelligence analysis of Russia’s V2U autonomous attack drone revealed it uses a Chinese Leetop A203 minicomputer and NVIDIA Jetson Orin processor for target selection without human intervention.
Chinese supply chain enables Russian drone production
Among the 55 sanctioned entities, 10 Chinese companies face restrictions for supplying critical components. Recent investigations revealed Chinese firms have been secretly supplying Russia with drone engines disguised as refrigeration equipment to bypass Western sanctions.
Chinese components dominate Russian drone manufacturing, with 80% of critical electronics having Chinese origins. Bloomberg investigations found that Chinese engineers from Autel Robotics worked directly with Russian company Aero-HIT to adapt civilian drones for military use, producing up to 10,000 units monthly.