Ukraine says more than 150 Chinese mercenaries are fighting for Russia
Chinese officials have called the allegations ‘totally unfounded’.
Ukraine has expanded on its claim that significant numbers of Chinese nationals are fighting for Russia’s invading army.
It says it has gathered detailed intelligence on more than 150 mercenaries Moscow allegedly recruited through social media.
In China, officials have called the allegations “totally unfounded”.
The Ukrainian accusation and Chinese denial come as the US strives to secure a ceasefire in the war which has lasted for more than three years.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday that the Ukrainian military had captured two Chinese men fighting alongside the Russian army on Ukrainian soil. It was the first time Ukraine had made such a claim about Chinese fighters in the war.
On Wednesday, Mr Zelensky said he was willing to exchange the two prisoners of war for Ukrainian soldiers held captive in Russia. Without providing evidence, Mr Zelensky said officials in Beijing were aware of Russia’s campaign to recruit Chinese mercenaries. He stopped short of saying the Chinese government authorised the mercenaries’ involvement in Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine has the last names and passport data for 155 Chinese citizens fighting for the Russian army and that “we believe that there are many more of them”. He shared with journalists unverified documents listing names, passport numbers and personal details of the alleged Chinese recruits, including when they arrived in Russia for military training and departed for service.
China has provided strong diplomatic support for Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It has also sold Russia machinery and microelectronics that it can use to make weapons, Western officials say, in addition to providing an economic lifeline through the trade in energy and consumer goods.
China is not believed to have knowingly provided Russia with troops, weapons or military expertise.
US officials have accused Iran of providing Russia with drones, while American and South Korean officials say North Korea has sent thousands of troops and ammunition to help Russia on the battlefield.
With the US and Europe having provided substantial military support and diplomatic heft for Ukraine, the war has to some degree become a contest between power blocs.
Tensions between the US and China have deepened in recent years. Disputes have centred on geopolitical influence, technology and trade – and recently escalating import tariffs between the countries have shaken global financial markets. Mr Zelensky said US officials expressed “surprise” when informed of the presence of Chinese mercenaries in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump is trying to follow through on a campaign promise last year to swiftly end the war in Ukraine.
US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said at a briefing in Washington on Tuesday that reports of Chinese citizens fighting on behalf of Russia were “disturbing”.
“China is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine,” Ms Bruce said. China provides nearly 80% of the dual-use items Russia needs to sustain the war, she claimed.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, also called Beijing “the key enabler of Russia’s war”.
Dual-use goods are entering Russia via China, she said in Brussels, adding: “It’s clear that if China would want to really stop the support then it would have an impact.”
China has increased sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for the war, according to a US assessment last year.
The Kremlin has effectively rejected a US proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting in Ukraine. The Kyiv government has consented to it. Both sides are believed to be preparing spring-summer military campaigns.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in Beijing that China has played a “constructive role in politically resolving the Ukraine crisis”.
Mr Lin told a daily news briefing on Wednesday that “the Chinese government always asks Chinese citizens to stay away from conflict zones, avoid getting involved in any form of armed conflict, and especially refrain from participating in any party’s military operations”.
His comments appeared to indicate that the captured Chinese had joined Russia’s ranks on their own initiative. Both Russia and Ukraine allow foreign soldiers to enlist.
China has previously put forward a vague peace plan that was swiftly dismissed by most observers.
In the meantime, both countries have kept fighting a war of attrition along the front line and targeted each other with long-range strikes.
The city of Kramatorsk in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk endured a “massive drone attack” overnight, regional head Vadym Filashkin said, injuring an 11-year-old girl, her mother and her grandmother.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 55 Shahed and decoy drones at the country overnight.
The Russian Defence Ministry said that air defences downed 158 Ukrainian drones over 11 Russian regions overnight but reported no casualties or damage.
Several Russian regions temporarily suspended flights at their airports because of the attack, however, and some Ukrainian drones reached Russia’s Orenburg region in the southern Urals located nearly 745 miles east of the Ukrainian border, the Defence Ministry said.
