Zelenskyy accuses China of 'turning a blind eye' to its nationals fighting in the Ukraine war, Beijing reacts

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at least 155 Chinese nationals are fighting for Russia in the ongoing war, accusing Beijing of “turning a blind eye” to the matter. This week, Ukrainian officials released two dossiers naming, and in some cases picturing, Chinese men who were said to have signed up to fight for Russia. However, Kyiv did not suggest that Beijing, as a nation, was seeking to enter the war alongside Russia.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian president told reporters that he was not aware if China “gave some kind of command” to those now fighting for Russia. However, he did say Beijing must have been aware some people were joining another country’s military in return for payment.

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“We record that they [China] knew about it,” Zelenskyy said. “We record that these are Chinese citizens, they are fighting against us, using weapons against Ukrainians on the territory of Ukraine. Their motivation, money or not, politics, etcetera, is not yet known to me. But it will be known," he added.

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The Ukrainian leader noted that the United States was “very surprised and believes this is unacceptable”. The remarks from the Ukrainian leader came at a time when Washington and Beijing have been embroiled in a historic trade war. The document compiled by the Ukrainian intelligence pictured 3 Chinese soldiers aged between 19 and 45, with their passport details. Meanwhile, another dossier listed names, dates of birth, their Russian unit and in some cases, information about where they were recruited.

“The ‘Chinese’ issue is serious. There are 155 people with names and passport details – 155 Chinese citizens who are fighting against Ukrainians on the territory of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said, adding: “We believe that there are more, much more."

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Meanwhile, remarks from the Chinese officials on the matter suggested that people were joining up on their own initiative. However, Beijing noted the idea that significant numbers were involved in the war was “totally unfounded.”

“The Chinese government always asks Chinese citizens to stay away from conflict zones, avoid getting involved in any form of armed conflict, and especially refrain from participating in any party’s military operations.” Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Wednesday. China maintained that it is a neutral party in the conflict even though Russia makes heavy use of Chinese-made components in its arms industry, as does Ukraine.

Russia uses TikTok to lure people

During the press briefing, Zelenskyy noted that Russia was seeking to recruit Chinese fighters by openly advertising on TikTok and other Chinese social networks. Zelenskyy argued that “Beijing is aware of this”. “They [Chinese nationals] then travelled to Russia, typically Moscow, where they were first given medical examination over a three- to four-day period, he added.

“The recruits are then given one or two months of training and asked to fight on occupied Ukrainian territory. They received official migration cards from the Russian authorities and were given access to an official payment system to receive money,” the Ukrainian leader explained.

Apart from this, Kyiv also released the names of two Chinese prisoners who previously had been announced as being captured on the battlefield on Tuesday. They were identified as Wang Guangjun, born in 1991, and Zhang Renbo, born in 1998. the eastern European nation said it would be willing to exchange them for Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia.

With inputs from agencies.