Beijing, China

China again emerged to be at the centre of the Russia-Ukraine war as a report by POLITICO claimed that Beijing secretly sent gear to Russia, enough to equip an army. 

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The report mentioned that a tall Caucasian man was seen inspecting body armour in pictures posted on the Chinese company's website. 

Shanghai H Win, a manufacturer of military-grade protective gear, said on the official website in March that "this spring, one of our customers came to our company to confirm the style and quantity of bulletproof vests, and carefully tested the quality of our vests." 

The manufacturer of military-grade protective gear wrote on its website that the customer "immediately directly confirmed the order quantity of bulletproof vests and subsequent purchase intention". 

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The report by POLITICO has a photo featuring two men, but the identity of the smiling customer isn't known. However, citing the customs records obtained, the report says that there's a fair chance he was Russian. 

Also read: Russia strikes Kyiv for sixth time in a month after Ukrainian drones hit near its defence HQ 

The records apparently mentioned Russian buyers, who have declared orders for hundreds of thousands of bulletproof vests and helmets made by Shanghai H Win. 

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This report came weeks after it emerged that a Russian mercenary group received tens of thousands of protective helmets from China late last year. 

In May, The Financial Times reported about the period of time when Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was apparently raising a massive prisoner army to attack Ukraine. 

China

Image shown in POLITICO. 

China's peace plan to end war 

The report also contradicts the 12-point peace plan presented by China. Earlier this year, Beijing came up with a so-called political solution in Ukraine. 

China said that it hopes to play a constructive role in resolving the geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine with the announcement of the peace plan in the form of a 12-point foreign ministry paper for a gradual de-escalation between the warring nations. 

The move was vastly welcomed by the Western nations despite growing speculations that Beijing is mulling over sending "lethal aid" to Moscow for the Ukraine war. 

Also read: Crackdown on Putin critics: Navalny’s aide imprisoned for 'participating in an extremist' organisation 

Watch: Putin signs gender reassignment ban into law 

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China supplying equipment to Russia 

A few days back, French President Emmanuel Macron's top diplomatic adviser said China was delivering items that could be used as military equipment to Russia, although not on a massive scale. 

Asked at the Aspen Security Forum last week on Thursday if the West had seen any evidence that China has armed Russia in any way in the war in Ukraine, Emmanuel Bonne told the moderator: "Yes, there are indications that they are doing things we would prefer them not to do." 

News agency Reuters reported that Bonne is the head of Macron's diplomatic team at the Elysee Palace. 

When pressed on whether China was delivering weapons, Bonne said: "Well, kind of military equipment ... as far as we know they are not delivering massively military capacities to Russia but (we need that to be) no delivery."

(With inputs from agencies)

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