Beijing brushes off allegations Chinese ship hit by Russian drone

BEIJING – China brushed off on May 19 allegations that a Russian drone struck one of its cargo ships just a day before President Vladimir Putin was due to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for talks in Beijing.

Ukraine said on May 18 that a Russian Shahed drone had hit the Chinese cargo vessel KSL Deyang in the Black Sea.

The Ukrainian navy posted a photo showing part of the ship’s upper deck blackened after the alleged strike.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on May 19 that “the vessel involved is registered in the Marshall Islands and was carrying Chinese crew members”.

The Chinese Embassy in Ukraine had been in contact with the Chinese crew and confirmed that there were no casualties, he told a regular news briefing when asked about the attack.

The strike came just before Mr Putin is due to travel to China on the evening of May 19, eager to deepen energy ties and cement relations with his “good friend” Mr Xi, who hosted US President Donald Trump last week.

Mr Guo also reiterated Beijing’s stance that “dialogue and negotiation” were the only way to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

China has consistently called for talks to end the war, but has never condemned Russia’s invasion and is a vital source of revenue and dual-use products for an internationally isolated Moscow.

Mr Guo also denied suggestions – reported by the Financial Times – that Mr Xi told Mr Trump during his visit that Mr Putin might “regret” his invasion of Ukraine.

“The information you mentioned does not match the facts and is completely fabricated out of thin air,” Mr Guo said in response to a question about the reports. AFP