Chinese nationals captured fighting for Russia in Ukraine, Zelenskiy says

By Yuliia Dysa and Dan Peleschuk

KYIV (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Ukrainian forces had captured two Chinese men fighting for Russia in eastern Ukraine, potentially threatening a fragile peace effort in the three-year-old war.

Beijing is a close diplomatic ally of Moscow. It has not condemned the Kremlin's full-scale invasion, which U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants to bring to a rapid end.

Writing on X on Tuesday, where he posted a video of one of the alleged men, Zelenskiy said Kyiv had "information suggesting that there are many more Chinese citizens" fighting. He did not say whether Ukraine believed the men were acting 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," he wrote, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The case was the first publicly announced instance of Chinese nationals captured fighting for Russia in Ukraine. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.

China's Foreign Ministry objected to Zelenskiy's remarks that more Chinese citizens were at the frontline alongside Russians, calling them "groundless".

"Ukraine should correctly view China's efforts and constructive role in seeking a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press conference on Wednesday.

China was verifying the situation with Ukraine, he said, adding that its government had always required its citizens to avoid areas of armed conflict and "especially to avoid participating in the military operations of any party".

Beijing, which has engaged in some diplomatic efforts for peace, has said it has been objective and fair on the war.

Writing on social media, Andriy Kovalenko, a member of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, called the captured fighters mercenaries but offered no other details.

Russia has used Iranian drones as well as North Korean missiles and artillery shells since its February 2022 invasion.

Kyiv has also said Pyongyang's troops have been deployed to fight Ukrainian forces in parts of Russia's western Kursk region, where Ukraine staged a lightning incursion last summer.

"But there is a difference: the North Koreans were fighting on the Kursk front against us," Zelenskiy said in a joint briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever. "The Chinese are fighting on the territory of Ukraine."

Russia has not yet publicly commented on Zelenskiy's claim about Chinese fighters, nor has it explicitly confirmed using North Korean troops in its Kursk region.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the reports of Chinese nationals captured in Ukraine were disturbing but did not say whether Washington had verified the claim.

China's supply of dual-use items to Russia makes it a major enabler of Russia's war effort, Bruce told reporters, adding that cooperation between Moscow and Beijing contributed to global instability.

TOUGHER STANCE

Zelenskiy, who said the men were carrying documents confirming their identities, told reporters he hoped their capture would prompt the U.S. to take a tougher stance on Russia as it tries to end the fighting.

U.S. and Russian officials have in recent weeks engaged in bilateral talks, drawing criticism from Ukraine which is suspicious of the Trump administration's conciliatory stance toward the Kremlin.

"I think the U.S. needs to pay more attention to what's happening today," Zelenskiy said. He added that Ukrainian forces had engaged six Chinese fighters in total.

"We really hope that after this situation, Americans will talk more with Ukrainians, and then with Russians."

In a separate statement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv had summoned China's charge d'affaires in Ukraine "to condemn this fact and demand an explanation".    

China, which declared a no-limits strategic partnership with Russia days before Moscow's invasion, has said it is ready to play a role in settling the war in Ukraine. 

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa and Dan Peleschuk; Additional reporting by Anna Voitenko and Daphne Psaledakis, and Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Additional writing by Liz Lee; Editing by Alison Williams, Peter Graff, Sharon Singleton, Matthew Lewis and Kate Mayberry)