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Russia started producing a new long-range attack drone called the Garpiya-A1 last year using Chinese engines and parts, which it has deployed in the war in Ukraine, according to sources and documents seen by news agency Reuters.

The intelligence – which included a production contract for the new drone, company correspondence on the manufacturing process and financial documents – indicated that IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned weapons maker Almaz-Antey, produced more than 2,500 Garpiyas from July 2023 to July 2024.

The existence of the new Russian drone incorporating Chinese technology has not been previously reported.

The two intelligence sources said that the Garpiya, which means Harpy in Russian, has been deployed against military and civilian targets in Ukraine, causing damage to critical infrastructure as well as both civilian and military casualties.

 IEMZ Kupol and Almaz-Antey did not respond to requests for comment.

Russia’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment for this story. The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement to Reuters that Beijing strictly controls the export of items with potential military applications, including drones.

President Vladimir Putin has delivered a clear message to the West about the consequences it will face if it allows Ukraine to hit Russian territory with Western long-range missiles, the Kremlin has said.

Putin said on Thursday that the West would be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles, a move he said would alter the nature and scope of the conflict.

“The statement made by President Putin yesterday is very important. It is extremely clear, unambiguous and does not allow for double readings. We have no doubt that this statement reached those it was intended for,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The Kremlin has declined to comment after Ukraine said Russia used strategic bombers to strike a civilian grain vessel in Black Sea waters near NATO member Romania on Thursday.

Ukraine and Romania both condemned the attack on the ship, which was carrying Ukrainian grain to Egypt and was hit just after it left Ukrainian territorial waters.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred reporters’ questions to the Russian military.

Russia’s decision to expel six British diplomats over espionage concerns is not related to any effort to sever diplomatic ties with London, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

Earlier today, Russia’s FSB security service said it had revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow after accusing them of spying and sabotage work, signalling the Kremlin’s anger at what it sees as London’s vital role in helping Ukraine.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said it is “difficult to repeatedly hear” Western allies say they are “working on” a decision to free up long-range missiles to be used deep inside Ukraine while “Putin continues to burn down our cities and villages”

Mr Zelensky has been calling for the US and UK to agree to allow them to strike infrastructure such as airfields that contribute to the barrages of missiles and drones that strike across Ukraine on a near-daily basis.

The president wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that: “Putin interprets delays in helping us and in making strong decisions for Ukraine as permission to do whatever he wants.”

Until now the Storm Shadow missiles have been limited to Russian targets operating inside Ukraine, as well as in occupied Crimea. The missiles were likely used in the largest Ukrainian attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet last year at Sevastopol.

British Storm Shadow missiles have a range of more than 150 miles and can be fired by Ukrainian aircraft. Kyiv has long lobbied for permission to hit deep inside Russian soil via the western long-range missiles.

Manufacturer MBDA has said that the missile, which is fired from an aircraft, carries a range of around 155 miles and is designed to evade detection despite flying low after being launched.

Powered by a turbo-jet engine, the 1,300kg Storm Shadow travels at speeds of more than 600mph, is just over five metres long and has a wingspan of three metres.

After launch, the weapon, equipped with its own navigation system, descends to a low altitude to avoid detection before locking on to its target using an infra-red seeker.

On final approach the missile climbs to a higher altitude to maximise the chances of hitting the target.

The Independent’s Political Editor David Maddox reports from Washington DC:

A Russian guided bomb attack has killed two people and injured six others, including a child, in Ukraine‘s northern Sumy region, local authorities said.

The attack damaged residential houses and a clinic, and cut power supplies, the regional military administration said on Telegram.

Romania’s foreign ministry has condemned a Russian attack against a cargo ship loaded with Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea.

Russia reportedly struck the Turkish-operated merchant vessel Aya with a cruise missile at around 11pm local time on Wednesday within Romania’s exclusive economic zone.

The ship, which was carrying 26,550 metric tons of grain to Egypt from the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk, suffered damage. None of the crew were injured.

“This event represents an unprecedented escalation of Russia’s illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine,” the Romanian foreign ministry’s statement said.

“Deliberately attacking a cargo ship is a serious violation of international humanitarian legal norms governing the conduct of war at sea.”

The statement added: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the Russian Federation’s violation of the United Nations Charter through the systematic and irresponsible bombing of Ukrainian infrastructure and grain-carrying ships.”

Russia has not commented on the incident.