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Day 361: China May Be Prepared to Send Weapons to Russia, Says Blinken

    Day 361: China May Be Prepared to Send Weapons to Russia, Says Blinken
    Last updated Feb 19, 2023
    Image credit: Getty Images [via BBC]

    Facts

    • US Sec. of State Anthony Blinken has said that China may be considering providing Russian forces with arms and ammunition. He warned China's top diplomat and state councilor, Wang Yi, during a meeting on Sunday that providing any such weapons would pose a "serious problem."
    • The meeting between Blinken and his Chinese counterpart took place on the sidelines of a global security conference in Munich. While Blinken said that the provision of "lethal assistance" would provoke "consequences," Mr Wang said the US should "resolve the damage" to bilateral relations caused by Washington's "indiscriminate use of force."
    • Also at the Munich Security Conference, US VP Kamala Harris confirmed on Saturday that Joe Biden's administration has formally found that Russia has committed crimes against humanity during its invasion of Ukraine. "I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes," she said, "you will be held to account."
    • Moscow's Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, responded to the charge on Sunday by saying the US was trying to "demonize Russia." In comments made on Telegram, Antonov wrote: "There is no doubt that the purpose of such attacks is to justify Washington's own actions to fuel the Ukrainian crisis."
    • Elsewhere, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that most of Ukraine still had power, despite a series of intensified Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. Grid operator Ukrenergo had reportedly not imposed any extra restrictions on consumption on Sunday, according to electricity producer DTEK.
    • On the ground, 10 settlements in Kharkiv were shelled over the past day, killing one civilian and injuring two others. Demining continues in territories formerly occupied by Moscow's forces — 89 explosives were neutralized during the day on Saturday, according to Ukrainian news.

    Spin

    Anti-Russia narrative

    Russia's deliberate targeting of energy infrastructure — unnecessarily increasing the suffering of civilians — amounts to war crimes. This continuing Russian barbarity must be confronted.

    Pro-Russia narrative

    Attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure are a direct consequence of the failure of the country's leadership to meaningfully engage in peace talks and the mistaken belief Kyiv's forces can defeat Russia on the battlefield. These attacks will stop once a more sober position is reached.

    Nerd narrative

    There's a 5% chance that China will get involved in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict by 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


    Establishment split

    CRITICAL

    PRO

    More neutral establishment stance articles

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