Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to journalists in Kyiv, Ukraine, 8 April 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE / SERGEY DOLZHENKO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had captured two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia in Ukraine and warned that there were likely to be “many more” Chinese citizens serving in the ranks of the Russian military.
Ukrainian troops took the two men prisoner during clashes involving six Chinese soldiers in the villages of Tarasivka and Belohorivka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Zelensky told reporters on Tuesday.
Posting a video on X that appeared to show one of the captives with his hands bound describing a recent battle in Mandarin, Zelensky said that “identity documents, bank cards, and personal data” recovered from the two prisoners suggested that there were “many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than just these two”.
Zelensky said that both Chinese citizens were now in the custody of the Security Service of Ukraine, and that he had instructed Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha to “immediately contact Beijing and clarify how China intends to respond to this”.
Calling Russia’s “involvement of China, along with other countries, whether directly or indirectly” in its invasion of Ukraine “a clear signal that Putin intends to do anything but end the war”, Zelensky demanded a “response from the United States, Europe, and all those around the world who want peace”.
Sybiha wrote on X that he had summoned China’s chargé d’affaires in Kyiv to the Foreign Ministry “to condemn this fact and demand an explanation” for the presence of Chinese troops on Ukrainian territory.
“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.
Responding to Zelensky’s claim on Wednesday, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry denied that Beijing had provided troops to fight in Ukraine.
“The Chinese government has always required its citizens to stay away from the armed conflict zone, to avoid involvement in any form, in particular to refrain from participating in military operations by either side,” Lin said.
US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce called the reports “disturbing” and said that China’s provision of dual-use items to Moscow already made it a “major enabler of Russia” in the war in Ukraine.
Russia has focused on strengthening bilateral ties with Beijing in the face of its isolation by the West since the full-scale war in Ukraine began, with the two declaring a “no limits partnership” just days before Russia launched its invasion in 2022.
Beijing, however, positions itself as a neutral party in the conflict, publicly stressing its commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and its support for a “political settlement through dialogue and negotiation”.