British Defense Minister Grant Shapps said there is evidence that Russia and China are cooperating on lethal weapons for use in Ukraine, the BBC reports.
“We have evidence that Russia and China are cooperating in the field of military equipment for use in Ukraine”, — Shapps said during a defense conference in London.
According to the Minister of Defense, the volume of trade between Beijing and Moscow has increased by 64% since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. This shows that “they have each other’s backs”.
After Minister Grant Shapps spoke, conference moderator Mark Urban asked him to clarify whether he meant lethal equipment.
“US and British intelligence — military intelligence — can reveal, as I said in my comments this morning, that lethal aid is now flowing – or will flow in the future — from China to Russia and then to Ukraine. I think this is a significant development, and he should worry us because in the early stages of this war China wanted to present itself as a force influencing Putin toward greater moderation”, — Shapps replied.
He also added that new intelligence allowed him to declassify new facts.
“This recent visit [by Putin to China] that we’ve seen and the 64 percent increase in trade that we’re seeing between the two countries shows that actually the relationship between them is much deeper, and this new intelligence that I said has allowed I want to declassify and reveal this new fact here”, — Grant Shapps said.
The British Ministry of Defense refused the BBC’s request to explain the minister’s words in more detail.
The Minister of Defense was also asked whether Britain had really withdrawn its objection to Ukraine’s use of British weapons against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation.
He replied that London’s position among Kyiv’s allies on the limits of what is acceptable has always been radical. He summarized that “we will not talk about specifics”.
