Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Kyiv’s forces have captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting alongside Russian troops.
“We have information that there are much more than two such Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units,” Zelenskyy added.
Officially, China has claimed to be impartial about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, calling for a “peaceful and diplomatic resolution of the conflict.” But in February 2022, a few weeks before the Kremlin’s troops launched their all-out assault, Moscow and Beijing announced a “no-limits partnership deal.”
According to Zelenskyy, the two soldiers were captured in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and possessed “documents … bank cards, personal data.”
“Russia’s involvement of China directly or indirectly in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin is going to do anything but end the war. He is looking for ways to continue fighting,” the Ukrainian president warned. “This definitely needs a reaction. The reaction of the United States, Europe and everyone in the world who wants there to be peace.”
Despite its official stance of neutrality, Beijing has been accused of covertly supplying Russia with weapons and components for drone production, while cutting drone supplies to Ukraine. China denies the accusations.
The captured soldiers are Ukraine’s first reported POWs from China. Russian war bloggers have, however, reported Chinese volunteers fighting for the Kremlin since at least March 2024, alongside volunteers from Cuba, Colombia and many other countries.
Foreign volunteers from numerous countries also fight for Ukraine.
Earlier this year, Ukraine also captured two North Korean soldiers fighting alongside the Russians, as part of an official military link-up between Moscow and Pyongyang.
“Yet, our troops have not spotted Chinese fighters at the war front until recently,” a Ukrainian official told POLITICO after being granted anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
Now, Zelenskyy wants answers from China.
“I instructed the minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine to immediately contact Beijing and find out how China intends to respond to this,” he warned.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha summoned the Chinese chargé d’affaires in Ukraine to demand an explanation.
“Chinese citizens fighting as part of Russia’s invasion army in Ukraine puts into question China’s declared stance for peace and undermines Beijing’s credibility as a responsible permanent member of the UN Security Council,” Sybiha said in a post on X.
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