year since russia launched its invasion of ukraine. plus, moscow getting a boost on the battlefield from china. it s an outfront investigation. and a big gamble, accused murderer alex murdaugh takes the stand, did his tears and his admissions win over the jury? let s go outfront. good evening, everyone. i m kate bolduan in for erin burnett. outfront on the front lines, just hours from the one-year mark of the start of russia s war in ukraine, cnn has exclusively access to one town not far from where the head of putin s private army, the wagner group made an appearance on the front lines as well. [ speaking non-english ] re . translator: here and now we can greet all men who are fighting who are in the hospital who are fighting for our motherland. volunteers who are making ammunition. translator: we have seized a five-story building close to downtown bakhmut. translator: how far from the enemy? translator: it s 400 meters. translator: okay, let s go. otherwis
assistance from several chinese companies, even before the war, dual use aircraft, radar and lab equipment. flowing into russia 268 times. shipped by polygroup or polytechnologies, a state-backed chinese arms manufacturer. cnn contacted polygroup for comment along with several other chinese companies shown in the data. so far no response. any trade between a sanctioned chinese state owned defense company and a russian sanctioned defense company during wartime, any trade really at all is indicative of a growing partnership that potentially be of concern. reporter: the data implies deepening cooperation, the u.s. suspects china of creeping closer and closer to fully supporting russia s war. the consequences for ukraine could be catastrophic. sudden inflow of chinese weapons into the russians could
providing lethal support. reporter: china denies it calling the claims unfounded, a ploy, a smear. beijing and moscow declared a no limits partnership last year. cnn obtained a new report showing moscow may already be getting a boost on the battlefield from beijing. troves of trade data, collected and supplied by the center for advanced studies, a d.c. think tank that shows china sending russian defense companies sophisticated parts. we see the nature of these parts being labeled for use in military systems. reporter: cnn did not verify the data showing a steady supply of parts, dramatically increasing after the invasion. they could be helping russia resupply. rotors for attack helicopter, radar antenna parts for anti-aircraft missile systems sent to a russian defense company labeled for military use, the think tank says. their data shows military