British defence minister Grant Shapps accused China on Wednesday of providing or preparing to provide Russia with lethal aid for use by Moscow in its war against Ukraine, UNN writes, citing Reuters.
Details
Shapps told a conference in London that U.S. 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".
Shapps did not provide evidence to support his assertion.
"We have evidence that Russia and China are cooperating in the field of combat equipment for use in Ukraine," said Schapps, also quoted by BBC Ukraine.
"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.
Last month, the Chinese Embassy in the United States said it did not provide weapons, adding that they "are not a manufacturer and a party involved in the Ukrainian crisis." The Chinese Embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Addition
China has repeatedly denied accusations of supplying Russia with weapons.
In an interview with the BBC during a visit to Beijing last month, US Secretary of State Anthony Blenken said that it is not China that makes the main contribution to maintaining the Russian Defense and industrial base.
Today, Russia has reached a historic high in arms production, the head of the US State Department said.
According to him, Moscow receives a "huge number" of machine tools, Microelectronics, optics mainly from China.
"70% of machine tools and 90% of microelectronics come from China," Blinken said.
In addition, the British analytical center RUSI warned about the potential use of Chinese satellite technologies for reconnaissance on the front line in Ukraine.
As of 2023, China has become Russia's main trading partner, and Russia is China's sixth - largest trading partner.