UK accuses China of sending “lethal aid” to Russia

British Defense Minister Grant Shapps said on Wednesday that China is sending “lethal aid” to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine.

“Today I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine“said the minister at a conference in London.

“American and British military intelligence may reveal that lethal aid is now flowing from China to Russia and from there to Ukraine,” he said.

In his speech, Shapps warned that NATO needs to “wake up” and boost defense spending.

He also declared that democratic countries must “defend with full voice” the freedoms that depend on the international order.

The strategic alliance between Beijing and Moscow has deepened since the invasion of Ukraine, although China denies Western accusations that it is helping Moscow in its war effort.

Beijing has thrown a lifeboat to the battered Russian economy, with bilateral trade increasing to a record $240 billion in 2023.according to data from Chinese customs.

The British accusations contrast with the view of US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, who said that “until now” they had not seen China “directly supplying weapons” to Russia.

However, the United States is “concerned about what China is doing to fuel the Russian war machine, “not giving weapons directly, but providing inputs to Russia’s defense industrial base,” Jake Sullivan said.

The leaders of China and Russia, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, showed their closeness last week during a meeting in Beijing. In a statement after the meeting, Xi said they agreed on the need for a “political solution” to end the war.

“I have met with you more than forty times in recent years for bilateral talks,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russian leader Vladimir Putin. “China and Russia have maintained diplomatic relations for three quarters of a century. “They have proven their effectiveness in times of crisis,” he added, hinting at the importance of the bond.

Putin’s first trip abroad after assuming his new term, the fifth of six years at the helm of Russia, was to China. For Moscow, a close relationship with the Asian giant is very relevant. After attacking Ukraine, Russia was isolated internationally and its finances suffered the consequences. A week ago, Putin appointed economist Andrei Belousov, who was on Xi’s visit, as Defense Minister. Russia urgently needs raw materials for weapons production and China could supply them.

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