U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken left for Capri, Italy, on Tuesday night for a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting, where he will discuss Washington's concerns about China's support for Russia's defense industrial base, the State Department said.
Blinken will also raise this issue during his planned visit to China.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday that over the past months, the U.S. has observed materials being transferred from China to Russia. Russia is using the materials to rebuild its defense industrial base and produce arms that are showing up on the battlefield in Ukraine.
"We are incredibly concerned about that," Miller said.
Washington has long communicated its concerns to China about any actions that could support Russia's war in Ukraine, U.S. officials say. This includes not only direct military support but also steps taken by Chinese companies to reconstitute Russia's defense industrial base.
"The secretary does plan to travel to China in the coming weeks," Miller added. "That is an issue that he would be expected to raise."
In Ukraine
Ukraine's military said Tuesday it destroyed all nine aerial drones that Russia used in overnight attacks targeting multiple parts of the country.
The Ukrainian air force said the intercepts took place over the Kherson, Mykolaiv, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava, Cherkasy and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
There were no reports of damage or injuries from falling drone debris.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Western allies Monday to display the same unity toward Ukraine as they did toward Israel when they thwarted an Iranian aerial assault against Israel.
In a post on Telegram, Zelenskyy thanked allies who had answered Ukraine's request for more air defenses but said that "the intensity of Russian attacks" requires unity of the kind shown in the defense of Israel.
"The same is possible in defending Ukraine, which, like Israel, is not a NATO member, from terror," he continued. He called for "political will" from Ukraine's allies, as Ukraine is growing short of ammunition and desperate for more air defenses to repel Russian attacks.
Zelenskyy signed on Tuesday a controversial mobilization law designed to identify and increase the ranks of the country's soldiers as it continues to battle against Russia. The new law includes no provisions for soldiers, some of whom have been fighting for years, to take a break from the front line. In addition, draft dodgers may find they cannot access consular services or obtain driver's licenses. Parliament approved the bill last week.
US aid bill
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson announced Monday the House would consider a bill to provide additional military aid to Ukraine.
President Joe Biden has championed a $95 billion aid package that includes about $60 billion for Ukraine, in addition to aid for Israel and Taiwan.
The measure passed the Democrat-controlled Senate, but Johnson has declined to bring it up for a vote in the House.
Johnson said Monday the House would instead consider separate bills for aid to Israel, Ukraine and Indio-Pacific allies, as well as border security at home.
Many conservative Republican lawmakers, especially those closely allied with former President Donald Trump, who has been skeptical of assisting Kyiv in its fight against Moscow, fiercely oppose sending billions more dollars to Ukraine.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
