UK Defence Secretary claims evidence of China delivering weapons to Russia

UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps on Wednesday accused China of providing or preparing to provide lethal weaponry to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine.

As reported by Reuters, Shapps stated at a conference in London that American and British military intelligence have evidence that "lethal aid is now, or will be, flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine."

The minister said that "it is a significant development". 

"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. 

Shapps also noted that "we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine." 

"As we saw from Putin’s state visit to Beijing and the 64% growth in trade between Russia and China since the full-scale invasion…they’re covering each other’s back," the British minister said.

On 6 May, French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Paris and thanked the latter for his commitment to "refrain from selling any weapons" to Russia or aiding their war against Ukraine.

The US accused China of aiding Russia in achieving military objectives in Ukraine and warned of sanctions for supporting the Russian war.