Report: China asked Russia not to Invade Ukraine until after Olympics

It’s nice to have friends in high dictatorial places. While one dictatorship is hosting the world’s largest event, the Olympics, another dictatorship waits in the wings to start war.

A senior Biden administration official and a European official have indicated that a Western intelligence report says multiple senior Chinese officials told senior Russian officials in early February to wait to invade Ukraine until after the end of the Winter Olympics.

President Xi Jinping of China and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin met in Beijing on February 4, just before the Olympics began. Senior Chinese officials had “some level of direct knowledge” about Russia’s intentions to invade in the near future.

The New York Times reports that Intelligence on the exchange between the Chinese and Russian officials was classified. The report was collected by a Western intelligence service and considered credible by officials. Reportedly Senior officials in the United States and allied governments passed it around as they discussed when Mr. Putin might attack Ukraine.

According to the New York Times, Moscow and Beijing issued a 5,000-word statement at the time declaring that their partnership had “no limits,” denouncing NATO enlargement and asserting that they would establish a new global order with true “democracy.”