Key points
- China presents itself as a neutral party in conflict
- Donald Trump has been pushing for speedy end to war
- China rejects Ukraine’s claims
KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that Ukrainian troops had captured two Chinese nationals fighting alongside Russian forces, with Kyiv demanding an explanation from Beijing.
“Our military captured two Chinese citizens who fought in the Russian army. This happened on the territory of Ukraine — in the Donetsk region,” AFP cited Zelensky as saying.
“We have the documents of these prisoners, bank cards, and personal data,” Zelensky stated in a post that included a video of one of the alleged Chinese prisoners.
AFP reported that a senior Ukrainian official said that the prisoners were likely Chinese citizens who were enticed into signing a contract with the Russian army, rather than being sent by Beijing.
There was no immediate response to the claims from either Moscow or Beijing, but Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media that China’s charge d’affaires had been summoned for an explanation.
20 injured in drone strikes
China presents itself as a neutral party in the conflict and says it is not sending assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.
Kyiv has repeatedly urged Beijing to pressure Moscow to end its invasion, which has cost tens of thousands of lives and yet has still so far failed to see the Kremlin achieve its core objectives, according to Al-Jazeera.
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.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the United States and Russia will hold talks on Thursday in Istanbul on restoring some of their embassy operations that have been drastically scaled back following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials said early Wednesday that 20 people had been injured in three cities in Russian drone strikes overnight.
Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Sergiy Lysak said on Telegram 14 people were wounded in Dnipro, with one in a serious condition. The casualties were aged between 18 and 87. The southeastern city’s mayor Borys Filatov said five high-rise buildings were damaged.
AFP cited Donetsk region governor Vadym Filashkin as saying an 11-year-old girl, her mother and her grandmother were injured in Kramatorsk following a “massive attack by Russian drones”.
Ukrainian President Zelensky has claimed that Ukrainian intelligence has information regarding 155 Chinese citizens allegedly fighting for the Russian military against Ukraine, and that the real number is likely to be much higher.
“The ‘Chinese’ issue is serious. There are 155 people, with names and passport details, who are fighting against Ukrainians on the territory of Ukraine,” Zelensky claimed. “We believe that there are many more of them.”
“Absolutely groundless”
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian told a news conference earlier on Wednesday that the suggestion that many Chinese citizens were fighting in Ukraine was “absolutely groundless”.
“The Chinese government has always asked its nationals to stay away from areas of armed conflict [and] avoid involvement in armed conflicts in any form,” he said, saying that Beijing was verifying relevant information with Kyiv.
