Chinese nationals captured fighting for Russia in Ukraine, says Zelenskyy

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had captured two Chinese men fighting on Russia’s side in eastern Ukraine, potentially threatening a fragile peace effort in the three-year-old war.Beijing is a close ally of Moscow but is not publicly known to have directly aided in the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion.
Writing on X, where he posted a video of one of the men, Zelenskyy said Kyiv has ”information suggesting that there are many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units” and that he had ordered officials to obtain a response from Beijing.

Our military has captured two Chinese citizens who were fighting as part of the Russian army. This happened on Ukrainian territory—in the Donetsk region. Identification documents, bank cards, and personal data were found in their possession.

We have information suggesting that… pic.twitter.com/ekBr6hCkQL

– Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@zelenskyyua) April 8, 2025

The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Zelenskyy did not say whether Ukraine believed the men were operating on Beijing’s orders.

”Russia’s involvement of China, along with other countries, whether directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin intends to do anything but end the war,” Zelenskyy wrote.

He added that the captured men had documents confirming their identification, and added that Ukrainian intelligence and security officials were currently ”verifying all the facts”.

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