Zelenskiy claims that Chinese citizens who fought for Russia were captured in Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that the Ukrainian armed forces had captured two Chinese citizens who were fighting for the Russian army in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. He called on Kiev’s allies to react to the situation and demand an explanation from Beijing.

In a message on his Telegram channel on 8 April, Zelenskiy said that two Chinese nationals were captured during a battle involving several other Chinese soldiers, all of whom were part of the Russian army in Donetsk.

Since Moscow launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Beijing has become a close ally. But it has positioned itself as neutral in the conflict. Beijing has proposed peace plans to end the conflict and is not known to have directly helped the Kremlin.

In an exclusive report in February, Radio Free Europe identified the name of a Chinese citizen who said he had fought for Russia through a smuggled Russian defence ministry database, although he declined to give details.

“We have documents of these prisoners, bank cards and personal data,” Zelenskiy said in a Telegram post that included pictures of one of the alleged Chinese soldiers taken hostage.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on the claims of the Ukrainian President, who did not provide details on who was in command of the troops.

The Ukrainian leader said that preliminary intelligence indicates that several Chinese nationals are present in Russian military units operating in Ukraine and that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and relevant military units are “actively working” to confirm the extent of Chinese involvement in the war.

The captured Chinese nationals are currently in the custody of the SBU, where investigative and operational procedures are ongoing.

“The participation of Russia and China, along with other countries, directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin intends to do everything but end the war,” Zelenskiy wrote.

Zelenskiy confirmed the presence of troops in Russia’s Belgorod region

For the first time, Zelenskiy publicly said that Ukrainian troops are holding positions in Russia’s Belgorod region. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the deaths of children killed in a Russian air strike last week are being remembered.

Funerals were held on 8 April in the Ukrainian town of Krivi Rih for a three-year-old boy, Timofey, and a seven-year-old girl, Arina, two of the 20 victims of the attack – nine of them children. The ages of the dead ranged from three to 79.

Participants walked in a daze past portraits of two children as bells tolled in the Ukrainian President’s hometown. Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul described the attack as the deadliest in Russia’s three-year war against Ukraine.

Zelenskiy called for international pressure and stronger action to deter Moscow from continuing such attacks.

Ukrainian officials said the rocket with cluster munitions was used to maximise casualties without “disregard for civilian lives”, according to Volker Turk, the UN Secretary-General for Human Rights.

During his evening address, Mr Zelenskiy also referred to the report by Oleksandr Syrian, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine, “on the front line, our presence in the Kursk region and our presence in the Belgorod region.”

“We are continuing active operations in the enemy’s border areas and this is fully justified. The war must go back to where it came from … The main objective remains the same: to protect the land and communities in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions from the Russian occupiers,” he added.

Zelenskiy, who has so far not commented publicly on such operations in Russia, praised the Ukrainian 225th assault regiment for their work in the region.

Russian military bloggers have reported on clashes in the Belgorod region between Russian and Ukrainian troops.

After the attack on Krivi Rih, Moscow claimed that “there were no attacks on social facilities and infrastructure”, reiterating its long-standing response to accusations by Ukrainian officials that the attack was a war crime.

However, eyewitness testimonies, official statements, public records and other open sources of information examined by the Systema research team, the Russian-language investigative service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, show that the restaurant, which the Russian military claims was targeted because it hosted a meeting of troops and foreign advisers, was in fact the venue of a beauty industry forum and a birthday party.

Russia has denied targeting civilian infrastructure, despite daily documented attacks on cities across Ukraine.

These attacks have escalated since the White House began pressing Russia in March to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.

Ukraine has agreed to accept a US proposal for an initial 30-day ceasefire after talks in Saudi Arabia, while Russia says it is still considering the proposal.

Moscow and Washington also announced an agreement to limit military activity in the Black Sea region.

However, Ukrainian and Russian forces have continued to fire drones and missiles at each other almost every night./RSE/