China has increased its support for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine by sending military equipment to Russia, US officials said.
The alarm was raised as Kremlin Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in China on Monday for an official visit, his ministry said, with the two countries seeking to strengthen diplomatic ties amid the invasion of China. Ukraine by Russia continues.
US officials said anonymously Bloomberg that Beijing sent rifle scopes, tank components, rocket fuel and satellite images to Russia.
They also said China was providing “geospatial intelligence” to Moscow to help in its war in Ukraine, as well as propellants used in the production of missiles, microelectronics and turbojets – circumventing Western sanctions against Russia .
The publication adds that it was told that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken informed European allies of China’s increased support this week.
China has increased its support for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine by sending military equipment to Russia, US officials said. Pictured: A Russian missile launcher fires rockets toward Ukrainian troops in this image released April 4.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, October 18, 2023. Moscow and Beijing declared a “limitless” partnership in February 2022, when Putin visited Beijing a few days before. Russia has launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Putin regularly sought support from China before launching the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Western countries regularly urge Beijing to play a greater role in restoring peace in Ukraine by using its influence over the Kremlin.
While China considers itself a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, it has become Russia’s main trading partner over the past two years and favors a political settlement to end the fighting, providing a lifeline to the Russian economy in the face of sanctions.
However, she was reluctant to actively support the Russian president’s armies which suffered a series of defeats during the first year of the war.
As Moscow’s forces now advance into eastern Ukraine, the situation appears to have changed, according to information provided by U.S. officials.
With Putin’s forces more powerful than kyiv’s armies, Russian forces go on the offensive.
Ukraine warned on Friday that a key frontline town was under “constant fire” from advancing troops as Moscow said it had captured another small village.
The Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, in the eastern Donetsk region, appears to be their next major target. Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers with ties to the armed forces said Friday that Russian troops had reached the outskirts of the city.
While Ukraine struggles to obtain ammunition – Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has for months delayed a bill that would provide $60 billion in military and financial aid to kyiv – Russia has turned its economy upside down on a war footing.
Consumer factories have been transformed into arms manufacturers, and Russia has signed deals with Iran and North Korea for the supply of shells and drones.
This, combined with greater troop numbers, allowed Russia to recently make its first territorial gains since the capture of Bakhmut – and it is now trying to advance against Ukrainian units hampered by delays in Western military aid vital.
With China’s support for the Russian military, Western support would become even more vital in Ukraine’s efforts to repel the invaders.
A serviceman from the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a howitzer towards Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, April 5, 2024.
Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry announced that Lavrov, a longtime Putin ally, had landed in Beijing in a message on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday morning.
He will spend two days in the Chinese capital and meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, according to a previous press release from the ministry.
“An in-depth exchange of views is expected on a number of ‘hot topics,'” the statement said, citing “the Ukrainian crisis and the situation in the Asia-Pacific region.”
The ministry added that the two men “will discuss a wide range of issues related to bilateral cooperation, as well as cooperation in the international arena.”
Lavrov last visited Beijing in October for an international forum on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s flagship Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
It was reported last month that Putin would travel to China in May for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in what could be the Kremlin leader’s first foreign trip during his new term presidential – which began with his re-election in March.
Moscow and Beijing declared a “no-holds-barred” partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing just days before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, triggering Europe’s deadliest land war since the Second World War.
Rows of dragon teeth, anti-tank obstacles, are visible in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, April 6, 2024.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Saturday of consequences if Chinese companies support Russia in the Ukraine war, days after Washington expressed concern over Beijing’s aid to Russia in rebuild its military defense base.
“Secretary Yellen stressed that companies, including those in the PRC, must not provide material support to Russia’s war against Ukraine, including Russia’s defense industrial base, and the significant consequences if they do so,” the US Treasury said in a statement. , referring to the People’s Republic of China.
Xi, in a call with Putin last month, said both sides should resolutely oppose interference by external forces in domestic affairs, an apparent reference to the United States.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong said bilateral relations were “at their best in history” when he met his Russian counterpart in Moscow last month, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.