After the US warned that Russia had asked China for armed drones in late February, Beijing assured that it is "not part of the crisis" and does not even want "sanctions to affect China," Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed in a phone call with his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel Albares.

However, Xi Jinping's right-hand man for diplomacy assured that "China is entitled to defend its legitimate interests."

According to the newspaper Negócios, this message from Beijing comes after the US warned its European allies about the fact that Russia ordered armed drones from China in late February, when the invasion of Ukraine began, according to sources close to the matter, quoted by Bloomberg.

This news comes on the same day that South Korea announced the sending of non-lethal military aid to Ukraine.