Russia’s military is buying hundreds of units of a Chinese all-terrain vehicle that is also widely marketed to US consumers, purchases that risk heightening tensions between the west and Beijing over President Xi Jinping’s tacit backing for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian president inspected the Desertcross 1000-3 utility terrain vehicle earlier this month alongside defence minister Sergei Shoigu, who said the Chinese-made buggy “was extremely in demand”.
Russia’s use of the vehicles comes as Putin’s military increasingly turns to Chinese suppliers for equipment needed to maintain its invasion of Ukraine, and highlights the dilemma facing Chinese companies whose sales to Russia could expose them to retaliation from Washington.