(RepublicanPeak.com) – Former Russian intelligence officer Igor Girkin last week suggested that Russia will need a “lend-lease”-style agreement with China if it hopes to win the war in Ukraine, Fox News reported.
Girkin, who played a central role in Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, said on Telegram that China is the only country that can ensure Russia has “any level of success” in Ukraine, arguing that the country is running low on ammunition.
Girkin added that without China’s help, Russian forces will not only be “unable to fight” as long they want, but they will find themselves “naked and barefoot” by the last half of 2023.
Girkin’s comments come just days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CBS’s Face the Nation that China is considering sending lethal aid to Russia, including ammunition and weapons.
Germany’s Der Spiegel newspaper reported last week that Moscow is in talks with a Chinese company about purchasing 100 combat drones, according to Reuters.
Der Spiegel reported that Xian Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology, a Chinese drone manufacturer, said it could make available 100 ZT-180 drones which carry a 35-50kg warhead. The company also said it planned to help establish a production site in Russia where as many as 100 drones could be manufactured each month.
Last week, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that the US would not hesitate to “target Chinese companies or individuals” who would violate US sanctions against providing “material support” to Russia in its war in Ukraine.
Saturday, in an exclusive interview with CBS News, CIA Director Bill Burns said the intelligence agency is confident that Beijing is mulling the option of supplying “lethal equipment” to Russia. However, Burns stressed that no final decision has yet been made nor has the CIA seen any evidence that China has shipped lethal aid to Russia.
Burns offered a stern warning to Beijing, telling CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan that the Chinese would face “pretty serious consequences” if they provide lethal aid to Russia.
