effort in ukraine with lethal assistance, something that we re watching very, very closely. as beijing reacts by telling the us to keep out of its relationship with russia, we look at whether there s a danger the war in ukraine might become a proxy warfor the us and china. also coming up on newsday. two weeks after being struck by catastrophic earthquakes turkey is hit by further tremors. a bbc investigation reveals widespread sexual abuse on tea farms which supply some of the world s most popular brands. and real treasure from cambodia dating back a thousand years or more surfaces in london hello and welcome to the programme. it s seven in the morning in singapore, and 1am in kyiv where an american president has made an extraordinary visit, to an active war zone. joe biden s trip to kyiv was short on time, but long on symbolism, ahead of the first anniversary of the russian invasion of ukraine. he said america would stand with ukraine for as long as it takes and pledged
the war but they want to increase their economic ties with russia, they are selling non military or perhaps dual use equipment such as drones, but so far they have stopped short of military support. i think they would like to support russia militarily because i don t want russia to lose but i think the economic consequences for china would be so grave that so far they have not taken that step. i believe we have been have not taken that step. i believe we have been looking have not taken that step. i believe we have been looking at have not taken that step. i believe we have been looking at pictures l have not taken that step. i believe l we have been looking at pictures of joint military drills between russia and china, just on our screens moments ago, but given what you have said, is this even a possibility, ian, that china would go to that extent and supply weapons to the kremlin? it is one thing to dojoint military exercises, it is entirely another thing to go down the route o
russia s military has lost half its territory it once occupied. young, talented russians are fleeing, by the tens of thousands, not wanting to come back to russia. he thought he could outlast us. i don t think he is thinking that right now. strong support by the ukrainians want more than words, they want war winning weapons. the hard reality of russian aggression has forced nato leaders and especially president biden, into a series of difficult decisions, the biggest so far may be looming, ukraine doesn t just want weapons that will allow it to survive, it wants to win the war and up to now that is a level of help that president biden has not been prepared to grant. the ukrainians are pressing for a decisive upgrade as soon as possible. time might not be theirfriend. the cost that ukraine has had to bear has been
considering, they have probably been considering, they have probably been considering it for a year and so far have refrain refrain from doing so. i guess if the us has real evidence that they are planning to do something, they would probably need to make that public, otherwise it is going to hard to be set hard to sustain this accusation. this coming on the back of further tensions between the us and china. i am wondering, from what you have heard, how is what the us been saying about this being viewed in china and what beijing might decide to do not to do with regards to the war in ukraine? it to do not to do with regards to the war in ukraine? war in ukraine? it been re ected firml b war in ukraine? it been re ected firmly by china war in ukraine? it been re ected firmly by china as i war in ukraine? it been rejected firmly by china as provocative i war in ukraine? it been rejected i firmly by china as provocative and baseless, etc etc. they have made it clear that china is
assistance to russia in this aggression against ukraine or in a systematic way aiding the evasion of sanctions. well earlier, the chinese foreign ministry said it was america, not china that was endlessly shipping weapons to the battlefield. wang yi china s top diplomat is expected in moscow for talks on several issues including ukraine. for more on the role of china in the war in ukraine i m joined now by ianjohnson, a senior fellow in china studies at the us think tank, the council on foreign relations. it s great to get you on the programme. this is a pretty strong statement from antony blinken. is there any evidence for the united states is staying saying to china possibly supplying weapons to russia? ~ , ., ., , possibly supplying weapons to russia? ~ ., , ., russia? well, so far, there is no real evidence. russia? well, so far, there is no real evidence. the russia? well, so far, there is no real evidence. the united - russia? well, so far, there is no real evidenc