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Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Beijing of doing nothing to stop Russia enlisting Chinese nationals to fight in Ukraine, saying 155 such recruits have already been deployed to the battlefield and many more may soon follow.
The Ukrainian president’s comments raise questions about Beijing’s claims of neutrality in the conflict and could raise tensions between China and western governments that have warned against providing support to Russia.
Speaking to journalists in the presidential office on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence had identified 155 Chinese nationals who had signed contracts with Russia’s armed forces to fight in Ukraine.
The president said he believed “the real number is much higher”.
Asked about Zelenskyy’s comments, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that China always asked its nationals to avoid any form of involvement in armed conflict and that “the relevant party” should not make “irresponsible remarks”.
Zelenskyy insisted the Chinese leadership was aware of Russia’s recruitment of its citizens and had done nothing to stop it. “China’s top leaders are aware,” he said. “They know.”
Leafing through Russian military documents that he said were obtained by Ukrainian intelligence, the president said Chinese recruits were offered large salaries and given migration documents and payment cards. They underwent four days of medical examinations and received up to two months of military training, he added.
The Chinese troops range in age from 19 to 56-years-old, according to the documents, which Zelenskyy shared with the Financial Times and other media outlets. The documents list 168 names, including some recruits not yet deployed.
They are listed as being riflemen, snipers, gunners and reconnaissance soldiers and hold ranks including private, junior sergeant and commander. Four are listed as attached to drone units, suggesting they have received training for modern warfare.
Zelenskyy also provided further details about two Chinese fighters captured this week by Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russian troops have intensified their offensive in recent weeks.
The men, aged 31 and 33, were in the custody of the state security service in Kyiv, the president said. They were the first Chinese citizens to be taken captive during the war.
Zelenskyy said the Russian military was advertising to men in China through social media, particularly the Chinese-owned app TikTok.
He said Kyiv had provided the US with information about the Chinese fighters and hoped President Donald Trump would “respond” to the development.
The US state department called the reports of Chinese citizens’ involvement in the war “disturbing”, adding that Beijing was “a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine” providing nearly 80 per cent of the dual-use goods sustaining Moscow’s war effort.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sybiha said on Tuesday he had summoned China’s chargé d’affaires in Kyiv to demand an explanation, calling the participation of Chinese nationals “deeply concerning” and a blow to trust in Beijing as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Thursday said Zelenskyy’s accusation that Russia was drawing China into the war in Ukraine was “not true”, but did not deny the presence of Chinese nationals fighting on Moscow’s side.
“China is our strategic partner, friend, comrade, and China has always taken a very, very balanced position,” Peskov said.
Beijing has dismissed Zelenskyy’s claim that many Chinese citizens are fighting for Russia.
“The relevant party needs to be right and sober about China’s role and refrain from making irresponsible remarks,” the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Iran has supplied military equipment and Kyiv says North Korea has dispatched more than 11,000 soldiers to Russia. Western and Ukrainian officials say roughly 5,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded while fighting in Russia’s Kursk region since they began fighting last autumn. They have so far not crossed the border into Ukraine.
Moscow has also recruited mercenaries from Cuba, India, Yemen and several Central Asian and African nations.
Additional reporting by Wenjie Ding in Beijing and Max Seddon in Berlin
