Ukraine captures Chinese nationals who are fighting for Russia

Ukrainian forces captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting for the Russian army in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president said intelligence suggested that the number of Chinese soldiers in the Russian army is “much higher than two”.

Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said Chinese troops fighting on Ukrainian territory “questions the declared position of peace of China” and added that their envoy to kyiv was summoned for an explanation.

He marks the first official allegation according to which China provides a workforce in Russia for his war in Ukraine. There was no immediate response to the assertions of Moscow or Beijing.

In a press release on the social media platform X, Zelensky said the soldiers had been captured in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine with identification documents, including bank cards that had “personal data” on them.

Ukraine’s forces fought six Chinese soldiers and made two prisoners, he said.

The message was accompanied by a video showing one of the alleged Chinese captives handcuffed, speaking Chinese Mandarin and apparently describing a recent battle.

“We have information suggesting that there are many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than these two,” he said.

“The involvement by Russia of China, as well as other countries, whether directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin intends to end the war,” he said.

Zelensky called for an “United States, Europe and all those in the world who want peace” response.

An investigation is underway and the captives are currently under the care of the Ukraine security service, he added.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said that he had summoned the China affairs manager to kyiv to “demand an explanation”.

Writing on X, Andrii Sybiha declared: “We strongly condemn the involvement by Russia of Chinese citizens in its war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as their participation in the fight against the Ukrainian forces.”

He added that “Chinese citizens who are fighting within the framework of the Russian invasion army in Ukraine questions the declared position of peace in China and undermines the credibility of Beijing as a permanent member responsible for the United Nations Security Council”.

The French newspaper Le Monde previously pointed out that it had identified around forty accounts on the sister application of Tiktok, Douyin – which is only available in China – belonging to Chinese who claim to have signed with the Russian army.

North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to facilitate the war effort of Russia against Ukraine, According to Kyiv and Western officials.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Zelensky said: “The North Koreans fought against us on the front of Kursk, the Chinese are fighting in the territory of Ukraine.”

In January, Ukraine said it had captured Two north-Korean soldiers injured in the Kursk Oblast in Russia.

While Beijing and Moscow are close political and economic allies, China has tried to present itself as a neutral party in the conflict and has repeatedly denied providing Russia with military equipment.

One of the main advantages of Russia in war is the number. There were Moscow reports using “Meat mill” tactics To launch a large number of soldiers on the front line and gradually improve their position.

Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a large -scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls 20% of the territory of Ukrainemainly to the east.