Analyst Says Clips of Shenzhen, China Found in Russian Shahed Decoy

A well-known Ukrainian drone analyst has published footage that appears to be camera tests filmed in Shenzhen, China, saying these clips were retrieved from a downed Russian Gerbera drone.

Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, an oft-cited drone specialist who runs a popular Telegram channel about uncrewed systems in the Ukraine war, uploaded the videos on Sunday.

Business Insider could not verify that the footage was taken from a Gerbera, a Russian-produced long-range drone designed to mimic the Iranian Shahed loitering munition.

However, the clips appear to show the Beihuan main road in Shenzhen, which Business Insider geolocated from the footage using Baidu’s map and satellite features. Baidu is a local search engine akin to Google, which cannot be freely accessed in the mainland.

Cyber Boroshno, a Ukrainian open-source geolocation intelligence group, first reported that the angle of the footage meant it was likely filmed from the Aote Kexing Science Park, a set of four high-rise office complexes along the Beihuan main road.

One clip begins with an unknown person, who is sitting inside a high-rise building, moving the camera to face a window overlooking the Beihuan road at night. As the camera zooms in on the main road, it picks up individual cars, highlighting them with yellow and white indicators.

Another clip shows similar footage of the camera detecting cars merging into the Beihuan main road.

Beskrestnov also published an image of what he said was a camera attached to the Gerbera.

The product resembles the A40 Pro, a 360-degree 40x optical zoom camera produced by ViewPro, a Chinese company based in Shenzhen. The firm lists the A40 Pro as being able to track targets using artificial intelligence.

ViewPro’s website also lists its office address in the Shenzhen Hi-tech Industry Park, roughly 0.75 miles from the Aote Kexing Science Park. The company website said its product focus is on “UAV gimbals, payloads, and innovative drone accessories.”

It’s not clear if the company is directly involved with the Russian military or if the A40 Pro might have been bought by a separate entity that later supplied the Kremlin. ViewPro did not respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.

Beskrestnov’s post comes as Ukraine has accused Chinese industries of supplying Russia with key electronics and chips for advanced munitions and weapons.

The connection poses wider implications for the West’s sanctions on Moscow; Ukrainian officials and analysts have repeatedly said they’ve found parts sourced from outside Russia inside the Kremlin’s drones.

In January, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s troops had been finding Chinese anti-jamming antennae in Shahed drones. Two months later, Beskrestnov posted a photo of an advanced Chinese 16-element Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna, which he said was retrieved from the wreckage of a Shahed.

Kyiv’s military intelligence also said in November that it found Western-made parts in Shahed decoy drones.

Reuters and The New York Times reported in July 2024 that Russia regularly dodges sanctions by using Hong Kong as a central location to set up shell companies that procure and transport electronics and chips to Moscow’s military.

The US Commerce Department has sought to curb the strategy by imposing individual sanctions on dozens of Hong Kong businesses and individuals.

Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, is often dubbed China’s Silicon Valley and borders Hong Kong. Their proximity means that both cities, while separately governed and culturally different, are closely integrated under China’s Greater Bay Area initiative.