Ukrainian forces engaged six Chinese troops in battle in eastern Ukraine and took two soldiers prisoner, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, he added that he had ordered Ukrainian officials to obtain an official explanation from China, which he described as having joined Russia's war against Ukraine, and that he expected the United States to react.
The Ukrainian President wrote on X: “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.”
He added: “We have information suggesting that there are many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than just these two. We are currently verifying all the facts — intelligence, the security service of Ukraine and the relevant units of the armed forces are working on it. “
The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was not clear whether the Chinese soldiers had joined the fight on their own initiative. Russia allows foreigners to enlist in its military, as does Ukraine.
Zelensky said he asked his top diplomat "to immediately contact Beijing." He said China would be the third country to offer military support to Russia after Iran, which has supplied attack drones, and North Korea, which has supplied soldiers, according to American and South Korean officials.
The Ukrainian president said a clash with Chinese soldiers occurred near the villages of Tarasivka and Bilohorivka in Donetsk, where six Chinese military personnel engaged Ukrainian troops. Two Chinese were taken prisoner, Zelensky said.
The United States is aware of reports that Ukraine captured two Chinese citizens fighting on behalf of Russia, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in an update on Monday, adding the reports were "disturbing."
Bruce added that China is a "major enabler" of Russia in its war, citing its provision of dual-use goods.
The development will spark concern in the US, which this week threatened to impose a 104 per cent tariff on Beijing’s exports to the US in a separate dispute over trade deficits.
China is a key ally of Moscow, but has so far not sent troops to aid its invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Russian military said on Tuesday it had pushed Ukrainian forces out of a settlement called Guyevo in Russia's Kursk region and had carried out air and artillery strikes on Ukrainian troops across the border.
Russia has been trying since August last year to eject Ukrainian forces from Kursk after Kyiv's troops mounted a surprise incursion that embarrassed President Vladimir Putin and which Ukraine hoped would give them a bargaining chip in any future talks.
Zelensky confirmed for the first time on Monday that Ukrainian troops have also been active in Russia's adjacent Belgorod region.
Russia has effectively rejected a US proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting in Ukraine, and both sides are believed to be readying a spring-summer campaign on the battlefield.
