China asked Russia to delay the Ukrainian invasion until after the Beijing Olympics, suggesting some prior knowledge about Russia’s war plans according to a new US intelligence report. Credit: Presidential Executive Office of Russia/CC BY 4.0A Western intelligence report indicates that Chinese officials requested their Russian counterparts wait until after the Beijing Olympics ended, if they decided to invade Ukraine, US officials said on Wednesday.
China-Russia likely communicated on Ukraine invasion timeline, US officials say
The report suggests senior Chinese officials had at least some level of prior direct knowledge about Russia’s war plans or intentions.
In the weeks prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western intelligence officials warily watched Putin’s buildup on the Ukrainian border, anticipating that he may delay military action until after the Olympics so to avoid angering China.
Even though the request was made around the time Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing for the opening ceremony of the Olympics — where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping — it is not clear whether Putin addressed the matter with him directly.
With Putin and Xi’s meeting on the sidelines of the games, they issued a joint statement declaring that their partnership had “no limits,” with comments condemning NATO expansion — a key pillar of Putin’s justification for attacking Ukraine — included in their 5,000-word statement. And that statement has elevated Western concerns about a burgeoning alliance between China and Russia.
Open to interpretation
