US Secretary of State: Russia Is Producing Weapons Faster Than at Any Time in History

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Russia produced weapons at a record-high rate last year. He talked about it with the World Economic Forum President Borge Brende on April 29 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after his three-day visit to China.

“If you look at what Russia’s done over the last year in terms of its production of munitions, missiles, tanks, and armored vehicles, it’s produced them at a faster pace than at any time in its modern history, including during the Cold War as the Soviet Union,” said Blinken.

The Secretary continues to explain China’s role in Russia’s ability to continue and maximize weapons production: “Because it’s getting massive inputs of machine tools, microelectronics, optics, mostly coming from China. Seventy percent of the machine tools, 90% of the microelectronics are coming from China. Now, these are dual-use items, but we know very clearly where so many of them are going.”

Blinken pointed out that Russia being able to import the needed spare parts and materials poses two issues: it enables Russia to continue the aggression against Ukraine and enables Russia to rebuild a defense industrial base that countries throughout Europe are deeply concerned will be turned against them after Ukraine is done.

Blinken’s recent trip to China had the goal of navigating the current geopolitical and regional issues: China’s support for Russia and China’s actions in the South China Sea.