The growing alliance between Russia and communist China carries significant implications for the war in Ukraine and the future of U.S. nuclear deterrence more broadly, according to one former general.
It is likely that the intensity of Russian military actions in Ukraine and potentially elsewhere will increase as Beijing and Moscow grow closer, and there is a real risk that nuclear war could erupt, according to retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding.
Without economic, diplomatic, and, potentially military aid from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Russian leader Vladimir Putin would not have been able to sustain the significant losses incurred by the Russian military, Spalding told the Epoch Times.
“I think it’s going to embolden Putin the more support he gets from China, clearly,” Spalding said. “He’s been emboldened this entire time by China’s support.”
“Without China’s backing, Russia would be nowhere close to able to mount an offensive this spring.”
Russia Dependent on China’s Support for War in Ukraine
The CCP has consistently blamed the United States and its NATO allies for Russia’s invasion, and has parroted the Kremlin’s propaganda by describing the war as a “special military operation” and censoring condemnations of the conflict on Chinese social media.
Now, U.S. leaders fear that the regime may be preparing to provide lethal aid to Russia’s military, though the regime’s support for Russia has been consistent throughout the war in Ukraine.
For his part, however, Spalding believes that the CCP started delivering such aid long ago.
“I’m of the opinion that they’re helping them with lethal aid, but it’s likely either American or other Western equipment that Chinese companies help them procure by bypassing sanctions,” Spalding said.
“It’s not likely that the Chinese right now would be having their own equipment sent, so that if it was captured on the battlefield you could see that it had come from China. But, if it’s coming from some Western country, then you’re not going to know how, necessarily, the Russians procured it.”
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