Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday said that Ukrainian troops had captured two Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russian forces, with Kyiv demanding an explanation from Beijing.
Moscow and Beijing have over the past few years boasted of their “no limits” partnership and deepened political, military and economic cooperation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
“Our military captured two Chinese citizens who fought in the Russian army. This happened on the territory of Ukraine — in the Donetsk region,” Zelenskiy said in a post on social media.
Photo: Bloomberg
“We have the documents of these prisoners, bank cards and personal data,” Zelenskiy said in a post that included a video of one of the alleged Chinese prisoners.
The video showed a man wearing military fatigues with his hands bound, mimicking sounds from combat and uttering a small number of words in Mandarin, during an apparent interview with a Ukrainian official not pictured.
At one point he is heard saying the word “commander.”
The prisoners were likely Chinese citizens who were enticed into signing a contract with the Russian army, rather than being sent by Beijing, a senior Ukrainian official said.
They were captured “a few days ago,” the source said, adding there might be more of them.
“Nothing is completely clear yet. When they are delivered to the SBU [Ukraine’s security service] and at least interrogated, we will understand,” the source added.
The source sent images of ID cards linked to one of the prisoners, which showed the date of his birth as June 4, 1991, and said he belonged to the Han ethnicity — the majority ethnic group in China.
There was no immediate response to the claims from either Moscow or Beijing, but Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiga on social media said that China’s charge d’affaires had been summoned for 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,” Sybiga said.
China presents itself as a neutral party in the conflict and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the US and other Western nations.
Kyiv had evidence that “many more Chinese citizens” are fighting alongside Russian forces and that he had instructed his foreign minister to find out how China intends to respond, Zelenskiy said.
He said the capture of the two men was “a clear signal” that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is going to do anything, but end the war.”
US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a speedy end to the war since taking office, but his administration has failed to reach a breakthrough.
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