Ukraine hasn't found any Chinese weapons used by Russia on the battlefield, National Security and Defense Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said in an interview on April 16.
"In the event that this changes, we will promptly notify both (Ukrainian) society and the world. However, considering China's involvement in world affairs, it is unclear why they would choose to supply weapons to the Russian Federation at this time," Danilov said.
Danilov added that when Ukraine was able to confirm Russia had started using Iranian-made drones to attack the country, authorities "immediately made a statement about it" and appealed to the countries whose components had been used in the making of the drones.
China has publicly positioned itself as a potential mediator between Russia and Ukraine. On April 14, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said that his country wouldn't sell weaponry to either side of the war.
However, Li Shangfu, China’s newly appointed defense minister, visited Russia on April 16 for his first official visit abroad and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that he had "specifically chosen Russia" in order to "emphasize the special nature and strategic importance" of bilateral relations between the two countries.
China released a 12-point "peace plan" on the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. It was criticized by many of Ukraine's allies for failing to explicitly call for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.
Thaisa Semenova
(Updated: )
