Russia asked China for military support in its invasion of Ukraine, U.S. officials alleged Sunday.
Moscow requested weaponry and additional economic support from Beijing, the New York Times reported Sunday, though U.S. authorities declined to reveal what type of assistance the Kremlin was seeking. Officials also declined to discuss how the Chinese government responded.
Asked about reports of Russia’s request for aid, Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the United States, said he had “never heard of that” and that his country was watching the deteriorating situation in Ukraine, adding, “The high priority now is to prevent the tense situation from escalating or even getting out of control.”
Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to President Joe Biden, will travel to Rome on Monday to meet with Yang Jiechi, his Chinese counterpart, about the war in Ukraine. Speaking to CNN in an interview on Sunday, Sullivan said he intended to warn Yang against Beijing supporting Russian efforts with regard to this conflict.
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“We are communicating directly, privately to Beijing that there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill them,” Sullivan said. “We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country, anywhere in the world.”
The top Biden administration official added that while the U.S. believes “China, in fact, was aware before the invasion took place that Vladimir Putin was planning something, they may not have understood the full extent of it … because it’s very possible that Putin lied to them the same way that he lied to Europeans and others.”
Russia began invading Ukraine in late February and has thus far turned millions of women and children into refugees fleeing the violence. The bloodshed has also already killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians and an unknown number of Russians. Numerous efforts at peace talks have failed, and Ukraine has united in its resolve to fight the continued invasion, though it is unclear how long they will be able to keep Russian forces from taking any major cities.
Russia has faced enormous financial consequences over Putin’s decision to invade, with the country’s economy crumbling within three weeks of launching the military offensive.
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The U.S. and the United Kingdom have placed bans on Russian oil and gas exports, which were levied without the backing of other European allies, many of whom have urged a slower response to the war. Biden, alongside a united European Union, pulled select Russian financial firms from SWIFT, the global banking system earlier this month as well.
