Ukrainian forces captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting for the Russian army in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
He said on Tuesday that intelligence suggested that the number of Chinese soldiers in the Russian army was “much higher than two”.
The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, said that Chinese troops fighting in Ukrainian territory “questions the declared position of the peace of China” and added that their envoy to kyiv was summoned for an explanation.
This is the first official allegation of Ukraine that China provides Russia. There was no immediate response to the assertions of Moscow or Beijing.
In a press release on the social media platform X, Zelensky said the soldiers had been captured in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine with identification documents, including bank cards that had “personal data” on them.
Ukraine’s forces fought six Chinese soldiers and made two prisoners, he said.
The message was accompanied by a video showing one of the alleged Chinese captives handcuffed, speaking Chinese Mandarin and apparently describing a recent battle.
“We have information suggesting that there are many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than these two,” he said.
“The involvement by Russia of China, as well as other countries, whether directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin intends to end the war,” added Zelensky.
The Ukrainian President called for an “United States, Europe and all those in the world who want peace” response.
An investigation is underway and the captives are currently under the care of the Ukraine security service, he added.
On Tuesday, the spokesperson for the US State Department Tammy Bruce described the reports of “disturbing”.
She added that China is a “major facilitator” of the Russian war in Ukraine, citing its supply of double-use goods such as navigation equipment, semiconductor chips and jet parts.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said that he had summoned the China affairs manager to kyiv to “demand an explanation”.
Writing on X, Andrii Sybiha declared: “We strongly condemn the involvement by Russia of Chinese citizens in its war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as their participation in the fight against the Ukrainian forces.”
He added that this decision “questions the declared position of the peace of China” and undermines Beijing’s credibility as a member of the United Nations Security Council.
The French newspaper Le Monde previously pointed out that it had identified around forty accounts on the sister application of Tiktok, Douyin – which is only available in China – belonging to Chinese who claim to have signed with the Russian army.
North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to facilitate the war effort of Russia against Ukraine, according to kyiv and Western officials.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Zelensky said: “But there is a difference: the North Koreans fought against us on the front in Kursk, the Chinese are fighting on the territory of Ukraine.”
In January, Ukraine said they had captured two North Korean soldiers injured in Kursk Oblast in Russia.
While Beijing and Moscow are close political and economic allies, China has tried to present itself as a neutral party in the conflict and has repeatedly denied providing Russia with military equipment.
One of the main advantages of Russia in war is the number. There have been Moscow reports using tactics of “meat mill” to throw a large number of soldiers on the front line and gradually improve their position.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a large -scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls around 20% of the territory of Ukraine, mainly in the East.
Russian drone attacks against Ukraine continued on Tuesday evening with strikes 14 people in the Central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, and two others in Kharkiv, northeast, local officials said. A number of fires have been reported in the two cities.
