Kremlin's requests to China raise 'questions about the fundamental readiness of the Russian military': CNN

Russia has reached out to China for assistance with its invasion of Ukraine -- but CNN reports that the nature of some of the Kremlin's requests is raising "questions about the fundamental readiness of the Russian military."

In particular, CNN noted that the Kremlin asked China to provide "non-perishable military food kits," which suggests that Russia is having trouble even keeping its army properly fed while they're in the middle of a battle.

While there's no way to know for sure what the food situation is for the Russian military, CNN notes that it lines up with anecdotal reporting about the sorry state of Russia's armed forces at the moment.

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"Forward-deployed units have routinely outstripped their supply convoys and open source reports have shown Russian troops breaking into grocery stores in search of food as the invasion has progressed," writes CNN. "One of the sources suggested that food might be a request that China would be willing to meet, because it stops short of lethal assistance that would be seen as deeply provocative by the west."

However, CNN's sources say China's leadership is not united about how to respond to Russia's requests for help and it may not accede to its requests.