China Had Prior Knowledge Of Russian Invasion, Urged Putin To Delay Attack On Ukraine Until After Olympics: Report

According to NYT report, senior Chinese officials had some degree of information about the Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict | Photo: Getty

New Delhi: China in early February had asked Russia to delay Invasion of Ukraine due to Winter Olympics in Beijing, reported the New York Times (NYT) citing information from officials of US President, Joe Biden's administration and an European official.

According to the NYT report, senior Chinese officials had some degree of information about the Russian aggression against Ukraine that started almost a week ago and has claimed lives of over 2,000 civilians. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin had visited China on February 4, ahead of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, and met his counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing. After the meeting, both the countries had issued a joint statement hailing their strong ties and denouncing NATO expansion.

The New York Times report said that the intelligence of exchange between both the countries was collected by a western intelligence, and shared between senior officials in the United States and in allied governments who discussed the date and probability of attack by Russia on Ukraine.

However, an official familiar with the intelligence said that the material did not indicate any necessary conversation between Putin and Xi about the invasion, reported NYT.

The newspaper also sought confirmation from the Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu in Washington on the issue over the phone to which Liu said, "These claims are speculation without any basis, and are intended to blame-shift and smear China.”

Notably, Russia launched an offensive against Ukraine on February 24, soon after the Winter Olympics in Beijing ended.