U.S. intel on China considering lethal aid for Putin's war was gleaned from Russian officials

Initial U.S. quality suggesting that China is considering supplying lethal assistance to Russia for its warfare successful Ukraine was gleaned from Russian authorities officials, according to one existent and 1 former U.S. official familiar with the intelligence.

U.S. officials past spent weeks corroborating the accusation from different sources of intelligence, the existent and erstwhile officials said, and with allies who besides brought further streams of information. 

The officials spoke connected the information of anonymity to sermon delicate quality matters.

The aggregate threads of quality suggesting that China is considering giving lethal assistance to Russia, including ammunition and artillery, raised alarm among Biden medication officials, peculiarly fixed however specified a determination by Beijing could displacement the dynamic of the warfare successful Moscow's favor.

"A Russian subject that's fueled by oregon aided by a Chinese infusion of weapons and platforms is much lethal militarily and much capable," a elder medication authoritative said. "That's not going to beryllium bully for the radical of Ukraine."

Top medication officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director Williams Burns, person publically expressed assurance successful the quality and warned China against providing Russia with lethal subject aid.

China has denied it is considering sending lethal assistance to Russia, calling the U.S. accusation "disinformation." 

U.S. officials enactment that they person not seen immoderate grounds of question oregon a determination from China to instrumentality that step.

At a White House property briefing Thursday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby was asked however superior the medication thinks China is astir perchance sending weapons to Russia. 

"We really don't know," Kirby said. 

Kirby added that the U.S. believes China has not taken it disconnected the array but besides has not seen immoderate grounds that Beijing is moving toward sending lethal assistance to Moscow. 

The NSC declined to remark erstwhile contacted for this story.

The archetypal quality was vague astir what circumstantial systems oregon instrumentality China was considering providing to Russia, including whether they could supply drones beyond what are already disposable commercially, officials acquainted with the quality said.

"There are varying levels of assurance astir however superior China is astir this," a 2nd elder U.S. authoritative said. 

In an interrogation Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation," Burns acknowledged that the determination to merchandise the accusation publically was intended to deter China from deciding to supply Russia with lethal aid.

"We're assured that the Chinese enactment is considering the proviso of lethal equipment," Burns said.

He added: "Secretary Blinken and the President person thought it important to marque precise wide what the consequences of that would be."

There was immoderate treatment wrong the medication implicit declassifying and publically releasing immoderate of the intelligence, but officials decided against doing so, astatine slightest for now, due to the fact that of the sensitivity of the sources utilized to cod the accusation and due to the fact that the administration's extremity of sending a connection to China not to proviso Russia with lethal aid, for now, appears to person worked.

The U.S. accusations that China is considering supplying Russia with lethal subject assistance travel arsenic Beijing enactment guardant a projected bid program for ending the warfare successful Ukraine. 

President Joe Biden and different apical U.S. officials person said the connection is one-sided and lone benefits Russia. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said China's engagement connected a imaginable bid program "is not bad."

Some Biden medication officials spot China's caller signals that it could travel disconnected the sidelines connected the warfare successful Ukraine, and get progressive successful 1 mode oregon another, arsenic an attempted powerfulness determination aimed astatine undermining the U.S. aft caller moves to heighten its alliances successful the Asia-Pacific region.

Other officials caution that China hasn't made immoderate determination yet connected whether to get much progressive and is inactive efficaciously taking the aforesaid presumption it has since the commencement of the warfare a twelvemonth ago. 

"There are issues wherever we conscionable cognize we're not going to beryllium capable to spot things oculus to eye," a elder U.S. authoritative said of the Biden administration's narration with China. "What we privation to do, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to Ukraine, is we privation that to beryllium 1 of those areas wherever we bash spot oculus to eye."

In different words, the authoritative said, 1 of the Biden administration's goals is for China to admit that "it's not OK for Russia to termination guiltless Ukrainian people, and cipher should beryllium helping them bash that."