A company filing made in Sep lists 
Wang Dinghua (王定华), the majority shareholder of Chinese drone parts supplier Shenzhen Minghuaxin (深圳市铭华鑫科技有限公司) (upper right pic), as the new owner of a 5% stake in Rustakt, one of Russia’s leading drone companies and a manufacturer of the VT-40 FPV drone widely used by Russia in attacks on Ukrainian forces, highlighting a deepening relationship between Moscow and Beijing’s military-industrial complexes.
Shenzhen Minghuaxin and other companies owned by Wang have been big suppliers of drone parts to Rustakt and its allied companies.
While China has given Moscow greater access to its vast capacity to produce electronics than Kyiv, this new tie-up marks a previously unknown level of cooperation between a Chinese company and a Russian military supplier.
Within a day of accessing the company filing, however, all of Rustakt’s ownership records had been suppressed and removed from official corporate registries in Russia. Data about the share transfer has also now been expunged from private corporate intelligence sites in the country.
At the time of the data suppression, Rustakt was listed as 95%-owned by Pavel Nikitin. The company, which is subject to sanctions imposed by Ukraine and the EU, is listed by Ukrainian authorities as a participant in Russia’s “Judgment Day” project to supply uncrewed aerial vehicles and train pilots for its war effort.
Rustakt was the largest importer of components for FPV drones in Russia between July 2023 and Feb 2025.
The company has previously filed paperwork listing itself as a maker of the VT-40 drone, which was deployed to artillery units, engineering troops, airborne forces and marines. The drone is being widely used by Russian forces along the frontline in Ukraine.
“Since first appearing on the battlefield in 2023, the drone has undergone several upgrades to enhance its electronic-warfare resilience and control systems. While it isn’t exceptional in any single area, its mass production, low cost and availability make it a consistent workhorse for Russian forces.”
Increasing cooperation between the Russian and Chinese military industrial complexes and Moscow’s reliance on Chinese drone parts means “there is a logic to this tie-up”.
Rustakt and Minghuaxin were already working together before Sep. Minghuaxin has shipped $304M of parts to Rustakt, as well as $107M of goods to an associated Russian company, Santex Plant.
Rustakt has bought $110M of lithium-ion batteries from Minghuaxin, as well as $87M of motors and $64M of controllers since mid-2023. Santex bought $66M of controllers and $37M of DC motors. These purchases appear to be in concert: the Russian filings show that almost all of the Santex customs paperwork was filed by Rustakt.
Nikitin previously worked at and was a shareholder at Santex, before he was succeeded as head of the company by a Belarusian man called Egor Nikitin. According to Russian filings, Egor’s surname, patronymic name and birthday are the same as Pavel’s — suggesting the two men may be twin brothers.
Chinese company filings show Wang holds a 10% stake in Shenzhen Nasmin Investment. Egor holds the remaining 90%.
Filings made by Rustakt to Russian regulators also show it has bought production equipment from China. The company has sought certificates for imports of metalworking machines and plastic-injection moulding equipment that was supplied by Shenzhen Kiosk Electronic (深圳卡思科电子有限公司), also majority-owned by Wang (lower right pic).
Russia has moved to industrial-scale use of FPV drones — thousands of units per day and tens of thousands per month. These were produced through the ‘Russian Drone’ network in conjunction with Rustakt and other firms — all of which critically depend on Chinese brushless motors and electronics supplied via a network of intermediaries and importers.
The registered address for Minghuaxin was occupied by Shenzhen Kiosk Electronic.
ft.com/content/e907c2
Wang Dinghua (王定华), the majority shareholder of Chinese drone parts supplier Shenzhen Minghuaxin (深圳市铭华鑫科技有限公司) (upper right pic), as the new owner of a 5% stake in Rustakt, one of Russia’s leading drone companies and a manufacturer of the VT-40 FPV drone widely used by Russia in attacks on Ukrainian forces, highlighting a deepening relationship between Moscow and Beijing’s military-industrial complexes.
Shenzhen Minghuaxin and other companies owned by Wang have been big suppliers of drone parts to Rustakt and its allied companies.
While China has given Moscow greater access to its vast capacity to produce electronics than Kyiv, this new tie-up marks a previously unknown level of cooperation between a Chinese company and a Russian military supplier.
Within a day of accessing the company filing, however, all of Rustakt’s ownership records had been suppressed and removed from official corporate registries in Russia. Data about the share transfer has also now been expunged from private corporate intelligence sites in the country.
At the time of the data suppression, Rustakt was listed as 95%-owned by Pavel Nikitin. The company, which is subject to sanctions imposed by Ukraine and the EU, is listed by Ukrainian authorities as a participant in Russia’s “Judgment Day” project to supply uncrewed aerial vehicles and train pilots for its war effort.
Rustakt was the largest importer of components for FPV drones in Russia between July 2023 and Feb 2025.
The company has previously filed paperwork listing itself as a maker of the VT-40 drone, which was deployed to artillery units, engineering troops, airborne forces and marines. The drone is being widely used by Russian forces along the frontline in Ukraine.
“Since first appearing on the battlefield in 2023, the drone has undergone several upgrades to enhance its electronic-warfare resilience and control systems. While it isn’t exceptional in any single area, its mass production, low cost and availability make it a consistent workhorse for Russian forces.”
Increasing cooperation between the Russian and Chinese military industrial complexes and Moscow’s reliance on Chinese drone parts means “there is a logic to this tie-up”.
Rustakt and Minghuaxin were already working together before Sep. Minghuaxin has shipped $304M of parts to Rustakt, as well as $107M of goods to an associated Russian company, Santex Plant.
Rustakt has bought $110M of lithium-ion batteries from Minghuaxin, as well as $87M of motors and $64M of controllers since mid-2023. Santex bought $66M of controllers and $37M of DC motors. These purchases appear to be in concert: the Russian filings show that almost all of the Santex customs paperwork was filed by Rustakt.
Nikitin previously worked at and was a shareholder at Santex, before he was succeeded as head of the company by a Belarusian man called Egor Nikitin. According to Russian filings, Egor’s surname, patronymic name and birthday are the same as Pavel’s — suggesting the two men may be twin brothers.
Chinese company filings show Wang holds a 10% stake in Shenzhen Nasmin Investment. Egor holds the remaining 90%.
Filings made by Rustakt to Russian regulators also show it has bought production equipment from China. The company has sought certificates for imports of metalworking machines and plastic-injection moulding equipment that was supplied by Shenzhen Kiosk Electronic (深圳卡思科电子有限公司), also majority-owned by Wang (lower right pic).
Russia has moved to industrial-scale use of FPV drones — thousands of units per day and tens of thousands per month. These were produced through the ‘Russian Drone’ network in conjunction with Rustakt and other firms — all of which critically depend on Chinese brushless motors and electronics supplied via a network of intermediaries and importers.
The registered address for Minghuaxin was occupied by Shenzhen Kiosk Electronic.
ft.com/content/e907c2