Ukrainian forces have captured two Chinese citizens who were fighting alongside Russian troops in the eastern Donetsk region and say “significantly more” Chinese may be among the Russian military, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.
There has been no immediate comment from China. Beijing has not been known to provide Russia with weapons or military resources, and it is unclear whether Chinese citizens joined the conflict of their own free will.
Russia, like Ukraine, allows foreigners to serve in its armed forces.
President Zelensky said he had asked his top diplomat to “immediately contact Beijing.”
He also noted that China would become the third country to provide military aid to Russia, after Iran, which supplies attack drones, and North Korea, which sends soldiers, according to U.S. and South Korean officials.
Since the launch of a full-scale invasion of the neighboring country in February 2022, China has been actively supporting Russia at the diplomatic level.
Beijing also offers economic assistance through trade in energy and consumer goods.
President Zelensky said the clash with Chinese troops took place near the villages of Tarasovka and Belogorovka in Donetsk, where six Chinese soldiers engaged Ukrainian troops. Two Chinese were captured, he added.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said his ministry had summoned China's chargé d'affaires for clarification, noting on TV channel X that “the participation of Chinese citizens in the Russian army invading Ukraine calls into question China's stated position on peace and undermines Beijing's authority as a responsible permanent member of the UN Security Council.”
Russia has effectively rejected a US offer for an immediate and complete 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, and both sides are believed to be preparing for a spring-summer battlefield campaign.
“I don’t see any signs that could lead to a ceasefire or even peace, but I see many factors that point to a continuation of the war,” Nico Lange, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, said in an analysis on Monday.
Mr Zelensky spoke at a press conference in Kyiv alongside Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who announced a €1bn (£0.78bn) aid package for Ukraine this year.
The Ukrainian President said that they discussed joint efforts in the field of military production and private investments from Belgium in the Ukrainian defense sector.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
