Zelenskyy warns there will be a world war if China supplies lethal weapons to Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that there will be a "World War" if China decides to support Russia's war effort in Kyiv. "For us, it is important that China does not support the Russian Federation in this war. In fact, I would like it to be on our side. At the moment, however, I don’t think it’s possible," Zelenskyy said, as per a report from the Guardian. He was speaking with Die Welt, ahead of Wang Yi's visit to Moscow. Wang Yi is China's top diplomat. 

Zelenskyy's statement comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement at the Munich Security Conference, in which he suggested that China was considering providing lethal aid to Russia, which would aid Russia's war effort in Ukraine. China has denied this claim. "It is the US, not China, that has been pouring weapons into the battlefield in Ukraine. The US is in no position to tell China what to do. China will never accept US finger-pointing or coercion on China-Russia relations," said Wang Wenbin, China's foreign ministry spokesperson. 

Will China provide lethal aid to Russia?

When the Russia-Ukraine war began, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reportedly made it clear to the Chinese administration that they will suffer serious consequences if they decide to support Russia's war effort by supplying military aid to Moscow. Russia has been complaining for a long time that it is not fighting a war just against Ukraine but against the entire west. 

If China does decide to provide lethal aid to Russia, it will be a relief to Moscow. However, as of now, it is not clear if China will provide lethal aid to Moscow. Ties between US and China are already tense and the spy balloon incident certainly did not help.