Ukraine has intelligence data China supplies weapons to Russia — Zelenskyy
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
China is supplying weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine. Kyiv has received relevant information about their cooperation, stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a briefing.
"Important but not pleasant information. We have finally received confirmation that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation. As of today, we have information from the Security Service of Ukraine and intelligence regarding gunpowder and artillery," Zelenskyy said.
He added that more detailed information would be released next week.
"In particular, we believe that Chinese representatives are involved in producing certain types of weapons on Russian territory," the President added.
Zelenskyy stated that while he was not surprised by the information, he would have preferred it not to be true. He reminded that he had spoken with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the ongoing full-scale war with Russia and had directly asked about arms deliveries.
"He gave me his word that China would not sell or deliver weapons to Russia. But now we see different information. In any case, we now have concrete facts about China and Russia cooperating to strengthen their military capabilities. And these are bad facts,” the head of state emphasized.
Russia-China cooperation
Despite strong trade ties between Russia and China, Beijing has repeatedly denied supplying weapons to any party and has stated it is not involved in the war against Ukraine.
At the 2024 NATO summit in Washington, the alliance accused Beijing of being a "decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine" and demanded that China stop providing weapons components and other technologies critical to the Russian military.
In September last year, the West obtained evidence that Chinese companies were secretly supplying arms to Russia. This could mean a significant escalation of Beijing's involvement in the war in Ukraine.
A report obtained by NATO allies indicated that one Chinese company had shipped several specially designed military drones to Russia for testing. Their final destination was Ukraine.
According to a Western official, who did not disclose the company’s name, the deal took place in 2023. However, there is now clear evidence that Chinese companies are delivering lethal weapons to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.
Additionally, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian president's commissioner for sanctions policy, told Reuters that around 60% of foreign components found in Russian weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine originate from China.
