Live: Ukraine intelligence chief sees no sign China plans to arm Russia

Issued on: 28/02/2023 – 07:24

6:40am: Ukraine intel chief sees no sign China plans to arm Russia

Ukraine’s head of military intelligence has brushed aside claims that China is considering supplying arms to Russia, telling US media that he saw no “signs that such things are even being discussed”.

Senior US officials have said as recently as Sunday that they were “confident” China was considering providing lethal equipment to Moscow, with a diplomatic pressure campaign underway to discourage it from doing so.

But when asked about the possibility in a lengthy interview with Voice of America published on Monday, Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said: “I do not share this opinion.”

“As of now, I do not think that China will agree to the transfer of weapons to Russia,” he said. “I do not see any signs that such things are even being discussed.”

5:35am: Belarus leader and Putin ally Lukashenko on China visit

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, is due in Beijing to begin a three-day state visit as geopolitical tensions rise over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

China has described the visit is an “opportunity to promote the further development of all-around cooperation between the two countries”, but there have been growing concerns that Beijing is considering providing military assistance to Russia, something United States officials say would bring serious consequences. 

China has called the US allegations a smear campaign, saying it is committed to promoting peace talks and accusing Washington and its allies of fueling the conflict by providing Ukraine with defensive weapons. 

“The US has no right to point fingers at China-Russia relations. We will by no means accept the US pressure and coercion,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday at a daily briefing. 

4:15am: Russia fights to encircle Ukraine’s defenders in Bakhmut

Russian forces are pressing their offensive in eastern Ukraine as they attempt to encircle the mining city of Bakhmut, the scene of some of the toughest fighting since the start of the war.

Ukraine’s military said Russia had strengthened its forces in the Bakhmut area and was shelling settlements around the city. Moscow’s forces are trying to cut the Ukrainian defenders’ supply lines to the city and force them to surrender or withdraw.

“Over the past day, our soldiers repelled more than 60 enemy attacks,” Kyiv’s military said early on Tuesday referring to Bakhmut and nearby eastern areas, adding that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks on the villages of Yadhidne and Berkhivka, on the northern approaches to Bakhmut.

>> Ukraine’s Bakhmut: Inside the frontline city

Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said Russian forces had driven a wedge between those villages as they tried to cut the road west to Chasiv Yar.

“The southern part of Bakhmut is the only area which can be described as under Ukrainian control. In all other districts, the situation is unpredictable,” he said in a video commentary, adding: “It is impossible to say where the front line lies.”

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)