Monitoring Desk
KYIV: Ukraine’s military intelligence head has brushed aside claims that China is considering arms supply to Russia, telling media that he saw no “signs that Beijing has even discussed these things.”
On Sunday, senior US officials have claimed that they were “confident” China was considering supplying lethal equipment to Moscow, with a diplomatic campaign underway to discourage this act.
In an interview with Voice of America (VOA) published on Monday, the Ukrainian military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov said: “I don’t share this opinion.”
“As of now, I don’t think China will agree to transfer weapons to Russia,” he said. “I don’t see signs that such things are even being discussed.”
In a highly tense meeting with his Chinese counterpart, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken aired the US concerns about potential arms supply.
In an interview on Sunday, the director of the CIA said that he believed China was still weighing the possibility.
China plans arms supply to Russia: Blinken
During a visit to Kazakhstan, the US Secretary of State again said that China should know the “consequences and implications” of assisting Russia on the military front.
“China can not have it both ways when it comes to Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine,” Antony Blinken told reporters.
“It can not be putting forward peace plans on the one hand while actually fuelling the flames of the war that Russia has started,” Blinken said, referring to a recent proposal by Beijing for talks.
Blinken said the United States told China it would impose sanctions on companies or people supporting the Russian war effort.
Media reports have cited unidentified US officials saying China was deciding whether to provide certain munitions and drones to Russia.
Asked specifically regarding the US assessment, Budanov said: “I am the intelligence chief, and I do not rely on the opinions of individual people, but only on ground realities. I do not see such facts.”
Regarding where Russia could still procure arms, the intelligence chief said that apart from unconfirmed reports of supplies from North Korea, “almost the only country that transfers more or less serious weapons is Iran.”
