MOSCOW, March 14. /TASS/. Moscow has not asked Beijing for assistance in conducting the special military operation in Ukraine, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Monday.

Asked to either confirm or deny the Financial Times’ claim the White House had allegedly received alarming information Russia had asked China for military assistance to conduct the special operation in Ukraine, Peskov answered in the negative.

"No," he said, when asked if the report was true.

He cautioned against using newspaper articles as primary sources of information.

"Many newspapers have written about this. You can read about many things in the newspapers these days. They should not be regarded as the original source," Peskov stressed.

Earlier on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said US media claims Russia had allegedly asked China for military assistance to conduct a special military operation in Ukraine were disinformation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 launched a special military operation in Ukraine following a request for assistance from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He said Moscow had no plans for an occupation of Ukrainian territories. The sole purpose is the country’s demilitarization and denazification. The Russian army avoids attacking cities, its main targets being military infrastructure. The civilian population is not at risk.