Trump's former national security advisor says China is 'providing cover' for Russia's 'mass murder' of Ukrainian civilians

• Trump's former national security advisor said China is "providing cover" for Russia.
• HR McMaster also slammed Russia's "mass murder" of Ukrainian civilians during the ongoing war.

Donald Trump's former national security advisor said on Monday that China is "providing cover" for Russia's "mass murder" of Ukrainians.

HR McMaster, who served as Trump's advisor from 2017 to 2018, said in an interview with CBS Mornings that Russians were killing "innocent civilians."

China has been "spouting the same narrative that this isn't really a war, calling it a 'special military operation,' also supporting these kinds of false claims of military biolabs in Ukraine," McMaster said, referring to baseless allegations by Russia that Ukraine and the US have bioweapons labs in the country.

He added: "I think this ought to be hung around China's neck, this horrible assault on Ukraine."

McMaster suggested that the US should extend economic sanctions against China to break Russia's economic dependence on China, saying economic measures could serve as a "wake-up call."

President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is set to meet with a top Chinese official to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, the White House said on Sunday.

The meeting comes after it was reported that Russia asked China for economic and military support to help its war efforts against Ukraine.

Sullivan said on CNN earlier that the US told China there "will absolutely be consequences" if it tries to help Russia navigate crushing the Western sanctions it faced as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.