Leaked Pentagon classified documents show China may have approved arms sales to Russia – WP

This is evidenced by Russian intelligence data intercepted by the United States and revealed in secret documents leaked recently, The Washington Post reports.

The intercept was apparently obtained as a result of US wiretapping of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

According to "intelligence signals," the report says, the SVR reported that China's Central Military Commission "approved the gradual delivery" of weapons and wanted it to be kept secret. The report did not identify the source of the information.

"We have seen no evidence that China has transferred weapons or provided lethal assistance to Russia. But we remain concerned and continue to monitor closely," a senior Biden administration official said. A senior defense official agreed with this assessment.

The report provides the most detailed evidence to date of what led to the flurry of public and private warnings from the Biden administration to Beijing starting in late February.

China, which has maintained its neutrality on the war in Ukraine, has condemned the US statements and said it would never accept coercion or "finger pointing" by the United States as Washington sends massive amounts of weapons into the war.

But the leaked document expands on the notion of Russia's deepening relationship with China, now Moscow's main foreign friend, as President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine leaves Russia increasingly isolated. While Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared to strengthen his relationship with Putin during a three-day visit to Moscow last month, China has refrained from fully supporting the Russian leader's efforts in Ukraine, instead positioning itself as a potential peacemaker.

The United States and NATO have reacted with scepticism to Beijing's calls for a ceasefire and its 12-point peace plan, saying that no solution should allow Russia to "rest" and "rearm." 

Meanwhile, Ukraine has demanded that any negotiated settlement respect its internationally recognized borders, which would require Russia to withdraw from Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine.

On February 19, the day after meeting with Wang at a security conference in Munich, Blinken told CBS News that the administration's concern has grown recently that China could provide support to the Russian war effort.

"We've seen them provide non-lethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine," Blinken said. "The concern we have now is based on the information we have that they are considering providing lethal support, and we have made it clear to them that that would cause serious problems for our relationship."

When asked what "lethal" support means, Blinken replied: "Weapons. Weapons. ... A whole range of things that fall into that category, from ammunition to weapons themselves." Senior administration officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, later said the shipments in question included artillery ammunition, which Russia desperately needs. Blinken said he shared the US concerns with Wang.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that Washington "should think about its actions. It is the United States, not China, that is endlessly supplying weapons to the battlefield."

CIA Director William J. Burns said in an interview with CBS on February 26 that the administration is "confident that the Chinese leadership is considering providing lethal equipment." He noted that the release of this information, if not its source, was intended to deter Beijing. Both Blinken and President Biden, Burns said, "felt it was important to make clear what the consequences would be."

After reports circulated last month that Xi Jinping was willing to have a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the United States would welcome such a conversation.

"That would be a good thing because it would potentially bring more balance and perspective to how [China] approaches this," Sullivan said. "And we hope that it will continue to dissuade them from choosing to provide lethal assistance to Russia, which we've obviously warned them about."

The call between Xi and Zelenskyy has not yet taken place. But on March 21, in Moscow, Xi and Putin reaffirmed their countries' "strategic alignment" and welcomed a "new era" of partnership.

"We think that would be a big mistake for China," Sullivan said, hinting at the possibility of Beijing providing lethal assistance, "because Russia is using these weapons to kill civilians and commit war crimes. And China should have nothing to do with it."

On several occasions recently, Biden has stated that there is no evidence that lethal supplies from China are reaching Russia.

"I've been hearing now for the past three months about China's going to provide significant weapons to Russia," Biden said on March 24 at a press conference in Ottawa with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "They haven't yet, doesn't mean they won't, but they haven't yet. "

• On April 6, The New York Times wrote about the leak of classified documents detailing US and NATO plans to build up the Ukrainian army before the planned counteroffensive. The Pentagon launched an investigation. Almost immediately, a new batch of classified documents appeared on social media, allegedly revealing US national security secrets regarding Ukraine, the Middle East, and China.
• Already on April 8, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reported that the so-called classified military documents on the plans for the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive were in fact a forgery and a special operation by Russian intelligence services. Russia could have forged the documents to disrupt Western aid to Ukraine.
• On April 9, investigative journalists from Bellingcat found out that the original source of the leaked secret Pentagon documents on the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive was a Discord server. CNN also reported that the Ukrainian command changed some of its military plans after the leak of classified Pentagon documents to the network.
• Currently, the Pentagon is still assessing the extent of the leak, which is also related to Ukraine. Advisor to Ukraine’s presidential office Mykhailo Podolyak, in turn, noted that the documents did not contain information about the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive. Some of these documents did not pass the authenticity test, and the White House called them fakes. 
• And Associated Press journalists learned that the person who published the secret Pentagon documents on Discord may be a child.
• Later, CNN reported that the published documents reveal the collection of information by the US intelligence community about its key partners and adversaries and competitors, including China.
• CBS journalists claimed that the FBI is working to track the leak, while the Pentagon is reducing the number of people who have access to the classified information that was made public.
• The Washington Post spoke to an alleged member of the Discord chat room where the Pentagon documents were leaked: the authors claimed that a "gun enthusiast" who worked at a military base was behind it