Britain’s defence minister says intelligence has evidence of Chinese lethal aid to Russia
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UK Defence Minister Grant Shapps said US and British defence intelligence had evidence that "lethal aid is now, or will be, flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine...."
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON - British defence minister Grant Shapps accused China on May 22 of providing or preparing to provide Russia with lethal aid for use by Moscow in its war against Ukraine.
Mr Shapps told a conference in London that US and British defence intelligence had evidence that "lethal aid is now, or will be, flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine, I think it is a significant development".
Mr Shapps did not provide evidence to support his assertion.
"We should be concerned about that because in the earlier days of this war China would like to present itself as a moderating influence on" Russian President Vladimir Putin, he added.
The Chinese Embassy in the US said in April it had not provided weaponry, adding that it is "not a producer of or party involved in the Ukraine crisis."
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London said Shapps’ comments were “totally groundless” and accused Britain of spreading “baseless accusations”.
The White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that although he had concerns that China could provide “weapons directly – lethal assistance – to Russia”, “we have not seen that to date”.
China is backing Russia’s war effort in Ukraine by providing Moscow with drone and missile technology, satellite imagery and machine tools, senior U.S. officials said last month.
Mr Putin visited China earlier in May, where he and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged a “new era” of partnership that proclaimed opposition to the United States on a host of security issues and a shared view on everything from Taiwan and Ukraine.
Russia and China proclaimed a “no limits” relationship just days before Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but Beijing avoided providing actual weapons and ammunition for Russia’s war effort.
Mr Shapps said Russia, China, Iran and North Korea had been emboldened by what he called a quarter of a century of “western timidity” towards repression at home and aggression abroad.
He said it was time for the “world to wake up” and that meant all Nato members should start spending 2.5 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence. REUTERS
