Secret documents leaked on the Internet indicate that Beijing did not respond to the request of PMC “Wagner” to supply weapons to the mercenary group in early 2023, reports Financial Timesquoted guardian and with Independent Kyiv.

Head of Wagner Yevhen PrigozhinPhoto: Not specified / WillWest News / Profimedia

The mercenary group, known for its brutal role in Putin’s war in Ukraine, unsuccessfully asked China for weapons earlier this year.

Representatives of the company “Wagner”, founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, tried to get “ammunition and equipment” from China in early 2023.

A direct request to China indicated that the group had some confidence in Beijing’s openness to arming Moscow beyond the non-lethal support provided by Chinese companies.

But according to the report, “China has not sent any weapons to (group) Wagner, even for testing, and has had no contact with Wagner regarding the delivery of weapons.”

According to other US government documents leaked online, China approved the provision of lethal aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine, but wanted any supplies to remain secret. However, there is no evidence that Beijing provided such military assistance.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on April 14 that his country will not supply weapons to either side of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

In an interview on April 16, Minister of National Security and Defense Oleksiy Danilov said that Ukraine did not find any Chinese weapons used by Russia on the battlefield.

“If this changes, we will immediately inform both (Ukrainian) society and the world about it. However, given China’s interference in world affairs, it is unclear why it decided to supply weapons to the Russian Federation at this particular moment,” Danilov said. .

According to US intelligence sources cited by the FT, Wagner made similar requests to Belarus and Syria, close allies of Russia.

According to the FT, the report said that Belarus “has already delivered 50% of the promised weapons” and offered Wagner to send 300,000 grenades for VOG-17 launchers by early January.

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