Concerning!
"The Russia-Ukraine War has vastly accelerated cooperation between the revisionist powers of Russia, North Korea, Iran, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). North Korea has provided Russia millions of artillery shells and several dozen ballistic missiles for use against Ukraine; in return, Russia has provided food, economic aid, parts for weapons manufacturing, and advanced technology for North Korean spy satellites. Iran has given Russia thousands of Shahed-131/136 loitering munitions, an unknown number of the Mohajer-6 multi-role unmanned aerial vehicles, and even helped Russia establish its own factory to make more sophisticated Shahed clones. In return, Iran is seeking to acquire Russian attack helicopters, Su-35 fighters, and the S-400 air defense system.
Underpinning the economics of this vast effort is the PRC. The PRC purchased USD $60 billion worth of Russian oil in 2023, with PRC shipping and insurance companies covering for the withdrawal of Western companies following the 2022 invasion. (The PRC has done the same with Iran, as well: Iran has used a global “dark fleet” to clandestinely sell 90 percent of its total oil exports to PRC refineries.) Russia has used its petrochemical windfall to ramp up purchases of Chinese dual-use items. Overall trade surged 23 percent to USD $240 billion from 2022 to 2023, with sharp spikes of PRC sales in dual-use items such as electronics, heavy trucks, excavators, as well as military optics, nitrocellulose for ammunition, and machine tools. ..."
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