Russia has denied it has asked China for help with military equipment, despite claims from the US. <\/p>\n
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said today that Russia could take full control of major Ukrainian cities with any help or military assistance from China.<\/p>\n
\u201cRussia possesses its own independent potential to continue the operation,\u201d Mr Peskov said. \u201cAs we said, it is going according to plan and will be completed on time and in full.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked by Reuters about remarks by US officials who had said that Russia had asked China for military equipment and financial aid, Peskov said: \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Peskov said that some of Ukraine\u2019s major cities were already surrounded by Russian forces.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d Mr Peskov added.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned that Beijing would \u201cabsolutely\u201d face consequences if it helped Moscow evade sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d Mr Sullivan said.<\/p>\n
A woman holding a small dog walks in front of an apartment in a block which was destroyed by an artillery strike in Kyiv,<\/p>\n
(AP)<\/p>\n
This map shows the extent of Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine<\/p>\n
(Press Association Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
China has denied reports that Russia asked for military aid. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China\u2019s embassy in Washington, added that Beijing found the war \u201cdisconcerting\u201d, and added: \u201cWe support and encourage all efforts that are conducive to a peaceful settlement of the crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
In other developments Russia has continued its push to secure the country\u2019s capital Kyiv, with fighting and artillery fire in the surrounding suburbs.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian authorities said two people died and seven were injured after Russian forces struck an airplane factory in Kyiv, sparking a large fire. <\/p>\n
Additional reporting by Reuters<\/p>\n
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Already have an account? sign in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russia has denied it has asked China for help with military equipment, despite claims from the US. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said today that Russia could take full control of major Ukrainian cities with any help or military assistance from China. \u201cRussia possesses its own independent potential to continue the operation,\u201d Mr Peskov said. \u201cAs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n