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China agreed to secretly arm Russia, leaked Pentagon documents reveal
Intercept of Russian intelligence shows Beijing wanted to disguise lethal aid as civilian items, says report
Intercept of Russian intelligence shows Beijing wanted to disguise lethal aid as civilian items, says report
Amy Hawkins
@amyhawk_
Fri 14 Apr 2023 15.47 BSTFirst published on Fri 14 Apr 2023 12.23 BST
China approved the provision of lethal aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine but wanted any shipments to remain a secret, according to leaked US government documents.
A top-secret intelligence summary dated 23 February states that Beijing had approved the incremental provision of weapons to Moscow, which it would disguise as civilian items, according to a report in the Washington Post.
The intelligence was gathered by US agents eavesdropping on Russia’s secret service discussions, the newspaper reported. The Russians said China’s central military commission wanted the shipments to remain secret, it added.
A separate intelligence file in the trove of leaked documents said Beijing would consider a “significant” Ukrainian strike with US or Nato weapons on Russian territory as an escalation of the conflict that would merit sending arms to Russia.
The files were part of a large batch of leaked classified documents that appeared on the online platform Discord last month. On Friday, Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old accused of leaking the documents, appeared in court in Boston. US officials have said that the documents are authentic and contain highly sensitive information, although some appear to have been doctored.
The leak about China’s willingness to send weapons to Russia appear to be genuine as soon after the date of intelligence reports in February, US government officials made the claim publicly. Beijing has vigorously denied the accusation. There is no evidence that any such weapons have actually been sent.
According to the leaked documents, Russia’s special forces have been gutted by the war in Ukraine. The Washington Post cited an intelligence report stating that one elite unit, the 346th Spetsnaz Brigade has only 125 troops remaining out of 900 deployed. It was not clear when that assessment was made, but it matches analysts’ assessments of Russia’s difficulties in Ukraine.
On Friday, China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, said his country would not provide arms to either side of the conflict, and would also restrict the export of dual-use technology.
China will not arm parties involved in Ukraine conflict, says minister – video
Discussing the leaked documents, President Joe Biden said on Thursday: “There’s nothing contemporaneous that I’m aware of that is of great consequence.” However, the disclosure of intelligence from less than two months ago undercuts that claim.
China, like Russia, is critical of Nato and has suggested that the conflict was provoked at least in part by the bloc’s expansion.
