More than 150 Chinese mercenaries have been recruited by Vladimir Putin to fight against Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has alleged.
The Ukrainian president accused Moscow of recruiting fighters from China by openly advertising on popular social media channels, such as TikTok.
He claimed that Kyiv had the names and passports of at least 155 Chinese nationals deployed on the frontlines after his army captured two citizens fighting in Donetsk.
But officials in Beijing have branded the allegations “totally unfounded”.
The first two captured Chinese citizens. Today, investigators from the Security Service of Ukraine spoke with them. We are working to establish all the facts regarding the involvement of these and other Chinese citizens being part of the Russian occupation army. Ukrainian… pic.twitter.com/PkBpBjI2Qm
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 9, 2025
The Ukrainian accusation and Chinese denial comes as the United States strives to secure a ceasefire in the war, which has lasted more than three years.
On Wednesday, Mr Zelensky posted a five-minute clip on his X account showing the interrogations of the two captured soldiers.
One of the combatants, who is named Zhang Renbo, revealed details about his fight against the Ukrainians.
He said: "It was my first combat experience. I was given an AK-47. Before that I have never had a weapon."
These are Chinese citizens, they are fighting against us, using weapons against Ukrainians
Mr Zelensky believes there are "many more" Chinese troops in Ukraine and that further information was being gathered.
He stopped short of accusing China of having directly conscripted the soldiers, but said their authorities were "aware" they were being recruited.
“These are Chinese citizens, they are fighting against us, using weapons against Ukrainians on the territory of Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said.
However, Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, said he is "not convinced yet" that the Chinese men identified, Renbo and Wang Guangjun, are more than mercenaries or volunteers.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian responded: "The Chinese government has always asked its citizens to stay away from areas of armed conflict (and) avoid involvement in armed conflicts in any form."
US State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce said at a briefing in Washington on Tuesday that reports of Chinese citizens fighting on behalf of Russia were “disturbing”.
And Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, called China “the key enabler of Russia’s war”.
China, under the leadership of Xi Jinping, has provided strong diplomatic support for Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, selling machinery and microelectronics that it can use to make weapons.
Other countries have provided Russia with troops or military expertise, Western intellegence suggests.
Around 12,000 North Korean troops have allegedly been sent to bolster Putin’s forces, while Belarus and Iran are said to have transferred some of its military equipment to the Russian Armed Forces.
Meanwhile, fighting intensified on the Ukrainian frontline on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, as the Kremlin continues to reject a White House proposal for a 30-day truce.
Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and the southern city of Mykolaiv overnight, injuring at least 12 people, authorities said.
