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British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps accused China of providing or preparing to provide “lethal support” to Russia for use in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“Today I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are cooperating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine,” Mr Shapps told a defense conference in London on Wednesday.
The Defense Secretary said new US and UK intelligence had shown that “lethal aid is now or will be flowing from China to Russia and then to Ukraine”, which Mr Shapps said was a “significant development”. said.
His comments seemed to suggest that China may have pivoted to directly supporting Russian forces in Ukraine, but he did not provide details or evidence.
Even as Chinese companies have emerged as key conduits for Russia to supply critical components needed by the Kremlin to maintain its defense industry, Beijing is not directly supporting Moscow’s war machine. I mostly avoid it.
The United States has warned China that Chinese companies could face consequences, including secondary sanctions, if they support Russia’s war effort.
Although China stopped short of backing the invasion, it provided Russia with a critical economic lifeline after Western sanctions shut it out of global markets and supply chains.
Mr Shapps said the increase in trade between China and Russia since the start of the invasion showed the two countries had developed a “deeper relationship”.
His comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing last week to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
Putin was accompanied by his new defense minister, Andrei Belosov, and head of the Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, who accompanied him to several meetings in China, including a private dinner with Xi.
Western countries have been watching for signs that Beijing may be providing arms to Russia. Last month, the Chinese embassy in the United States said China was not providing arms and was “not an initiator or party to the Ukraine crisis.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China in late April and said there was no indication that China was sending weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine.
“What China, or some Chinese companies, are doing is supplying critical components to Russia’s defense industrial base, including machine tools, microelectronics, and optics,” Blinken said.
But the United States this month sanctioned Chinese companies, including two groups, for allegedly supplying Russia with drones, weapons and ammunition, as well as chips, sensors and other military-related technology.
Both Ukraine and Russia are suffering from shortages of arms and ammunition.
Russia has turned its attention to North Korea and has secured more than 1 million artillery shells and ballistic missiles. Iran also supplies suicide drones to the Russian military. Regarding Ukraine, the US last month approved long-delayed $61 billion in IN military aid to Kiev.
Mr Shapps’ revelations are the latest in a series of warnings from British authorities about Beijing’s actions. The warning also includes claims that Chinese cyberattacks are targeting politicians and Britain’s election watchdog. This month, it was also reported that a Chinese hacker allegedly accessed the data of hundreds of thousands of British Ministry of Defense employees.
The UK Ministry of Defence, the Kremlin, China’s Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in London did not respond to requests for comment.
