 China supplies drones, ceramics for bulletproof vests to Russians. China, despite Beijing's calls for peace, is pushing right up to a red line in delivering enough non-lethal but militarily useful equipment to Russia to have a material impact on President Vladimir Putin's 17-month-old war on Ukraine according to Politico publication. It is noted that the protective gear would be sufficient to equip many of the men mobilized by Russia since the invasion. Then there are drones that can be used to direct artillery fire or drop grenades and thermal optical sights to target the enemy at night. These shipments point to a China-sized loophole in the West's attempts to hobble Putin's war machine. The sale of so-called dual-use technology that can have both civilian and military uses leaves just enough deniability for Western authorities looking for reasons not to confront a huge economic power like Beijing, Politico wrote. She said that the wartime strength of China's exports of dual-use products to Russia is confirmed by customs data. And while Ukraine is a customer of China too, its imports of most of the equipment covered in this story have fallen sharply, the figures show. Russia has imported more than $100 million worth of drones from China so far this year, 30 times more than Ukraine. And Chinese exports of ceramics, a component used in body armour, increased by 69% through Russia to more than $22 million, while dropping by 61% to Ukraine to a mere $5 million Chinese and Ukrainian customs data show.