Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of systematically recruiting people from China to fight its deadly war in Ukraine, deepening the row over Chinese fighters.
Two Chinese citizens were caught among Russia’s ranks in Ukraine’s war-torn Donetsk region, Mr Zelensky announced on Tuesday, before claiming that there are more than 150 Chinese fighters currently among Russia’s ranks.
The allegations have prompted a furious response from Beijing, which on Thursday warned Kyiv and its allies not to make “irresponsible remarks” after previously decrying what it described as Mr Zelensky’s “baseless” claims that there were more fighters.
In a post on social media, Mr Zelensky said on Thursday, referring to the captured men: “It is crystal clear that these are not isolated cases, but rather systematic Russian efforts, in particular on the territory and within the jurisdiction of China, to recruit citizens of that country for the war.”
Alongside a video of an interrogation with one of them, Mr Zelensky added that “everything necessary must be done to ensure that Russia has no such and similar opportunities to prolong and expand the war”.
Beijing has attempted to position itself as a peacekeeper amid efforts to bring the war to an end, despite having declared a “no-limits” partnership with Russia.
“I would like to reiterate that China is not the initiator of the Ukrainian crisis, nor is China a participating party. We are a firm supporter and active promoter of a peaceful settlement of the crisis,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday.
“We urge the relevant parties concerned to correctly and soberly understand the role of China and to not release irresponsible remarks,” he added.
Mr Zelensky had initially said the Ukrainian security services were working to assess whether the Chinese recruits had been receiving instructions from Beijing, adding that Kyiv believes they were recruited by Russia on social media.
But the Kremlin has backed Beijing’s account, denying any involvement of the Chinese authorities.
“This is not the case,” spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said of Mr Zelensky’s claim that China was being drawn into the conflict. “China takes a balanced position. China is our strategic partner, friend [and] comrade. Zelensky is wrong.”
Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, said he is “not convinced yet” that the Chinese personnel identified as fighting on behalf of Russia against Ukraine are more than mercenaries or volunteers.
“There’s an axiom in the military, the first report is always wrong,” Kellogg said during an appearance on Wednesday at Georgetown University.
“And this is one of those. Let’s sit back and see how this plays out because it could be volunteers,” he said.
Mr Kellogg noted that Ukraine also has volunteers from other countries, including the United States, fighting on its behalf. He added that the early reports of Chinese personnel are not on par with North Korea’s deployment of thousands of troops to the front lines.
The developments came as 30 countries convened in Brussels, looking to press ahead with plans to deploy troops in Ukraine in the event of any future peace agreement.
The meeting at Nato headquarters – the first between defence ministers representing the “coalition of the willing” – comes after a visit to Kyiv last week by senior British and French military officers. It’s expected to work on fleshing out an agreement reached at an earlier meeting between leaders.
British defence minister John Healey, who opened the meeting said: “We must put more pressure on President Putin to end his war.”
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