The US and its allies are concerned about China supplying the Russian army with kamikaze drones after a report surfaced that Chinese company Xi’an Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology is in talks with the Russian military over mass production of the said drones.
The report published by German newspaper Der Spiegel also claims that 100 ZT-180 prototype drones will be handed over to the Russian military and these drones are capable of carrying warheads ranging from 35 kilos to 50 kilos.
The report said the functionality of the drones is quite similar to Iranian-made Shahed-160 drones which Iran supplied to the Russian army. These drones were used to target Ukrainian power grids, residential areas and heating facilities and that also led to loss of lives of several Ukrainians.
The report comes a day before China urged Russia and Ukraine to turn to diplomacy and reduce hostilities. The Chinese government released a 12-point document which portrays China as a neutral country and discourages the threat and use of atomic weapons, stating that “nuclear proliferation must be prevented and nuclear crisis avoided’.
The American reaction to the peace plan came from US President Joe Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan who said that the first point of the 12-point plans which says that “the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries must be effectively upheld" is enough to stop the war.
He, however, took a jibe at Moscow and said: “My first reaction to it is that it could stop at point one, which is to respect the sovereignty of all nations. Ukraine wasn’t attacking Russia. NATO wasn’t attacking Russia. The United States wasn’t attacking Russia”.
The peace plan put forth by China also decries the formation of so-called ‘military blocs’. It urges all parties to abandon the Cold War mentality and “legitimate security interests and concerns of all countries must be taken seriously”.
“It is a known fact that NATO countries, including the US, are the
biggest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine, yet they keep claiming that China may be supplying weapons to Russia,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said. But the Ukrainian government was angered after the allegations surfaced as it took note of the developments with respect to the supply of weapons rather than the peace plan.
“If it is neutral, then China should talk to both sides… And now, we see the Chinese side mostly talks to Russia but not with Ukraine,” the Ukrainian embassy in Beijing said.
China is known to have given Russia diplomatic and financial support but refrained from sending drones, weapons and parts of jets and tanks but the Der Spiegel report also revealed that companies controlled by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) plan to deliver replacement parts for Russia’s SU-27 fighter jets and other models by falsifying shipping documents
to make the parts for military aircraft appear to be replacement parts for civilian aviation.
Der Spiegel’s report also claims that China provided satellite images of Ukrainian areas to Russia’s mercenary group Wagner PMC and commercial drones are being sent to Russia for reconnaissance purposes.
After the report surfaced, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday questioned China’s willingness to mediate in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Steinmeier said he welcomes the peace plan but doubts China’s willingness with respect to mediation. “Whether global power China wants to play such a constructive role is still doubtful,’ he said and urged Beijing to also speak to Moscow.
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