Kyiv, UkraineCNN — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said two Chinese nationals fighting in the Russian army have been taken prisoner in eastern Ukraine.

Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukrainian forces fighting in the Donetsk region obtained the Chinese nationals’ documents, bank cards and personal data.

“We have information that there are many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than just two. We are now finding out all the facts,” Zelensky said in a post on Telegram. “I have instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to immediately contact Beijing and find out how China is going to react to this.”

Russia’s involvement of China in this war in Europe, directly or indirectly, is a clear signal that Putin is going to do anything except end the war. He is looking for ways to continue fighting,” Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president also called on its allies in the United States and Europe to protest.

It is unclear if the Chinese nationals that Ukraine says it captured are Chinese soldiers or volunteers. Western officials on Tuesday told CNN that they did not see “evidence of state sponsorship” in their cases.

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said it was “disturbing” to see the reports. “China is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine. China provides nearly 80% of dual-use items Russia needs to sustain the war,” said Bruce in a news conference on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Tuesday that Kyiv has summoned Beijing’s chargé d’affaires in Ukraine “to condemn this fact and demand an explanation.”

“We hope that after this situation, the Americans will talk more with Ukrainians and then with Russians. And we hope that the Chinese side will also respond,” Zelensky said Tuesday afternoon during a news conference.

“This is another country that militarily supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the side of Russia. This is another one after Iran and the North Korean military,” he added.

China has consistently denied any involvement in the war. Beijing said on Wednesday that it was “currently verifying” the situation with Ukraine.

“It is important to emphasize that the Chinese government has always instructed its citizens to stay away from areas of armed conflict and avoid getting involved in the conflict in any form, especially avoiding participation in any party’s military operations,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said in a press conference on Wednesday.

The Kremlin spokesperson on Wednesday declined to comment on the claim that Chinese nationals were allegedly captured in Ukraine.

China has helped Russia ramp up its defense industrial base as it continues its war against Ukraine, senior Biden administration officials told CNN last year.

The support China has provided includes significant quantities of machine tools, drone and turbojet engines and technology for cruise missiles, microelectronics, and nitrocellulose, which Russia uses to make propellant for weapons, the officials said in April 2024.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/08/europe/ukraine-says-captured-chinese-nationals-russia-intl/index.html

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VIENTIANE, Laos: China’s foreign minister told his US counterpart Saturday that Beijing denies charges that it is helping Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.

Wang Yi, meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the capital of Laos, also said his country would take “forceful measures” to defend Chinese interests, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

China’s already strong economic, diplomatic and military ties with Russia were further strengthened after Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbor Ukraine in February 2022.

Now China has sought to paint itself as a mediator in Russia’s invasion, sending envoy Li Hui to Europe on multiple rounds of shuttle diplomacy.

China says the United States and other Western countries are fueling the war by arming Ukraine.

NATO, for its part, has branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war.

But Beijing has rebuffed claims it is supporting Russia’s war effort, insisting last week that its position was “open and above board.”

The United States has imposed sanctions on Chinese companies that sell Russia equipment which Washington says could help the war effort.

“The US should stop indiscriminate unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction,” Wang told Blinken, according to the statement.

“China is opposed to being smeared and to false accusations being made against it, does not accept pressure and blackmail, and will take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard its major interests and legitimate rights,” Wang added.

The two diplomats met on the sidelines of a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

China has never condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it accuses NATO of ignoring Russia’s security concerns.

But last year China called for respect for the territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine.

“China’s position on the Ukrainian issue is candid and we will continue to promote peace talks” between Russia and Ukraine, said Wang.

In a sign of China’s weight in trying to end the war, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba this week made his first trip to China since the war started.

Early this month, President Xi Jinping called on the international community to “create conditions” for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine.

China regularly calls for an end to fighting in Ukraine, a position that in effect would allow Russia to hold on to the Ukrainian territory it has seized by force.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2557926/world

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NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

THESE WILL ALSO INCLUDE ODESSA, KHERSON AND KHARKIV.....

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

TRANSNISTRIA WILL BE PART OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

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