Russia has denied it has asked China for help with military equipment, despite claims from the US.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia could take full control of major Ukrainian cities without any help or military assistance from China.
“Russia possesses its own independent potential to continue the operation,” Mr Peskov said. “As we said, it is going according to plan and will be completed on time and in full.”
When asked about remarks by US officials who had said that Russia had asked China for military equipment and financial aid, Peskov said: “No.”
Mr Peskov said that some of Ukraine’s major cities were already surrounded by Russian forces.
“The defence ministry of the Russian Federation, while ensuring the maximum safety of the civilian population, does not exclude the possibility of taking major population centres under full control,” Mr Peskov added.
Russia’s denial comes just a day after reports that Moscow had asked China for weapons and financial aid.
The White House was understood to be concerned that Beijing could undermine Western efforts to help Ukrainian forces.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned that Beijing would “absolutely” face consequences if it helped Moscow evade sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
“We are communicating directly, privately to Beijing, that there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill them,” Mr Sullivan said.
“We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country, anywhere in the world.”
China has also denied reports that Russia asked for military aid. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, added that Beijing found the war “disconcerting”, and added: “We support and encourage all efforts that are conducive to a peaceful settlement of the crisis.”
In other developments Russia has continued its push to conquer the country’s capital Kyiv, with fighting and artillery fire in the surrounding suburbs.
Ukrainian authorities said two people died and seven were injured after Russian forces struck an airplane factory in Kyiv, sparking a large fire.
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Additional reporting by Reuters
