KYIV — As Ukraine continues to interrogate two Chinese citizens that its forces captured in the Donetsk region earlier this week, Kyiv said it has identified even more Chinese men fighting for Russia.
“As of now, we have precise data on over 150 Chinese citizens who were involved in the war against Ukraine by Russia. We know that the actual number is higher,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement.
“Ukraine believes that such blatant involvement of Chinese citizens in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine during the war of aggression is a deliberate step towards the expansion of the war and is yet another indication that Moscow simply needs to drag out the fighting,” Zelenskyy added.
Zelenskyy earlier claimed that the first capture of Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russian troops was proof of another country, China, supporting Moscow militarily in its war against Ukraine, after Iran and North Korea.
“But there’s a difference. North Koreans were fighting against us in the Kursk region, while the Chinese were fighting against us in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday. “Ukraine is a strong country, but we can’t fight against multiple countries alone.”
Zelenskyy’s assertion that many more Chinese citizens are fighting for Russia in Ukraine prompted criticism from Beijing.
“Such claim has no basis in facts,” Lin Jian, spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said at a briefing Wednesday.
“China’s position on the issue of the Ukraine crisis is very clear and is widely recognized by the international community,” he said. “The Ukrainian side needs to view China’s effort and constructive role for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”
“Of course it does not mean the Chinese army is involved,” EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said. “What is clear is that China is a key enabler of Russia’s war. Without Chinese support Russia would not be able to wage war in the amount that they are waging this war. We see that 80 percent of the dual-use goods are entering Russia via China,” Kallas said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“If China would want to really stop the support it would have an impact,” Kallas added.
Beijing “is verifying the information with the Ukrainian side” about the two Chinese prisoners of war, the Chinese foreign ministry’s Lin said.
“Let me stress that the Chinese government always asks Chinese nationals to stay away from areas of armed conflict, avoid any form of involvement in armed conflict, and in particular avoid participation in any party’s military operations,” Lin added.