According to US Officials, "Russia has asked China for military support, including drones, as well as economic assistance for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine".
Potential assistance from the Chinese would be a significant development in Russia's invasion.
News of Russia's request came before White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, in Rome on Monday as part of a follow-up conversation to President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping's virtual meeting last November, according to National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne.
Sullivan told Dana Bash on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that China supporting Russia is a "Concern." We also are watching closely to see the extent to which China does provide any form of support, material support or economic support, to Russia.
We have communicated to Beijing that we will not stand by and allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses from the economic sanctions," Sullivan said.
Russia expanded its offensive to western Ukraine on Sunday, firing missiles near the city of Lviv and hitting a large military base close to the Polish border, reportedly killing dozens of people and drawing the war closer to the borders of a NATO country.
" Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday dismissed the allegations as well, saying, "Russia has an independent potential to continue the operation.
