US intelligence on China’s consideration of lethal aid for Putin’s war has been gathered from Russian officials

Early US intelligence suggests China is considering supply lethal weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine was gleaned from Russian government officials, according to a current and a former US official familiar with intelligence.

US officials then spent weeks corroborating information from other intelligence sources, current and former officials said, and with allies who also brought in additional streams of information. fig.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

Many clever themes suggest that China is considering providing lethal aid to Russia, including ammunition and artillery, has alarmed Biden administration officials, especially since such a move by Beijing could change the course of the war in the direction of in favor of Moscow.

“The Russian military motivated or supported by the transfer of Chinese weapons and platforms will be more dangerous militarily and more capable,” said a senior administration official. “That would not be good for the Ukrainian people.”

Top administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director Williams Burns, have publicly expressed confidence in the intelligence and warned China not to provide lethal military aid. for Russia.

China has denied it is considering sending lethal aid to Russia, calling the US accusations “disinformation”.

US officials note that they have not seen any evidence of a move or decision from China to take that step.

At a White House press conference on Thursday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was asked how seriously the administration thinks China is about the possibility of sending weapons to Russia.

“We really don’t know,” Kirby said.

Kirby added that the United States believes China has not taken the issue off the table but has also not seen any evidence that Beijing is moving towards sending lethal weapons aid to Moscow.

NSC declined to comment when contacted for this story.

Early intelligence was vague about what specific systems or equipment China was considering providing Russia, including whether it might supply drones beyond what is already available. on the market or not, said officials familiar with the intelligence.

“There are varying degrees of confidence in how serious China is on this issue,” said a second senior US official.

In an interview on Sunday CBS News’ “Facing the Nation“, Burns acknowledged that the decision to disclose the information publicly was intended to prevent China from deciding to provide lethal aid to Russia.

“We are confident that the Chinese leadership is looking at providing lethal equipment,” Burns said.

He added: “Secretary Blinken and the President think it’s important to clarify the consequences of that.”

There has been some discussion within the administration about declassifying and publicly disclosing some intelligence, but officials have decided not to do so, at least for the time being, because of the sensitivity of the matter. sources used for information gathering and for the purpose of sending government messages. So far, China has not provided lethal aid to Russia, which seems to have worked.

US allegations that China is considering providing lethal military aid to Russia come as Beijing rolls out a proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine.

President Joe Biden and other top US officials have said the proposal is one-sided and only benefits Russia. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that China’s involvement in a potential peace plan is “not bad.”

Some Biden administration officials see recent signs from China that it might stay out of the war in Ukraine and get involved in one way or another, as a power move aimed at weakening the United States. following recent moves to strengthen US alliances in Asia. – Pacific region.

Other officials warn that China has yet to make any decisions on whether to become more involved and is effectively taking on the stance it has taken since the start of the war. A year ago.

“There are issues where we know we’re not going to be able to look at everything,” a senior US official said of the Biden administration’s relationship with China. “What we want to do, especially when it comes to Ukraine, is we want it to be one of those areas where we can see firsthand.”

In other words, the official said, one of the goals of the Biden administration is for China to realize that “Russia shouldn’t be allowed to kill innocent Ukrainians and no one should help them do it.”