Russia would struggle to continue fighting in Ukraine without China's backing, Blinken says

Russia would struggle to sustain its invasion of Ukraine without China's help.

That’s according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukrinform reports, referring to Sky News.

Speaking in Beijing following talks with China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, Blinken said he had "reiterated" serious concerns about China providing components that are "powering Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine".

"China is the top supplier of machine tools, microelectronics and nitrocellulose, which is critical to making munitions and rocket propellants and other dual-use items that Moscow is using to ramp its defense industrial base," he said.

That industrial base is "churning out rockets, drones, tanks and other weapons that President Putin is using to invade a sovereign country", he added.

"Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China's support,” Blinken stressed.

"Beijing cannot achieve better relations with Europe while supporting the greatest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War. As we've told China for some time, ensuring transatlantic security is a core US interest. In our discussions today, I made it clear that if China does not address this problem, we will,” the top diplomat said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said China must stop supporting Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine if it seeks to improve its relations with the West.