China may have not sent a single soldier or bullet to Russia – but it has single-handedly kept Vladimir Putin’s war machine afloat.

Beijing’s role in the more than three-year-long invasion was thrust into the limelight when Kyiv revealed that it had captured two Chinese nationals fighting alongside Russian forces.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said it was evidence of a third country directly supporting Moscow’s attack on his country.

A video shared on his social media feeds purported to show a Chinese man, wearing military uniform and with his hands tied, being held in custody.

Among the documents found on one of the Chinese fighters was a Russian military contract that tied the 33-year-old, from the eastern province of Henan, to one year’s service as a private.

Another document revealed how the man had arrived at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on Feb 8 on a visa obtained two weeks before. He had been issued with a Russian social security number and tax code.