Grant Shapps
China is supplying lethal aid to Russia for use in its conflict against Ukraine, Britain’s defence minister Grant Shapps warned on Wednesday.
“Today, I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine”, he stated at a London conference.
Shapps cautioned that NATO needed to wake up and increase defence spending throughout the alliance.
“US and British defence intelligence can reveal that lethal aid is now flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine”, Shapps continued.
He suggested that democratic states should make a full-throated case for liberties that are dependent on the international order, implying that ‘we need more allies and partners globally’.
“It’s time for the world to wake up. And that means translating this moment for concrete plans and capabilities. And that starts with laying the foundations for an alliance-wide increase in spending on our collective deterrent”, Shapps added.
China and Russia’s strategic cooperation has grown stronger since the invasion of Ukraine, but Beijing has denied Western accusations that it is assisting Moscow’s military effort.
During a meeting in Beijing earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin demonstrated a strong sense of solidarity.
Following conversations with Putin during his visit, Xi stated that the two sides agreed on the necessity for a political solution to end the war.
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