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.
“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.
US will be surprised: Zelenskyy
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.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/world/zelenskyy-accuses-china-of-turning-a-blind-eye-to-its-nationals-fighting-in-the-ukraine-war-beijing-reacts-13878649.html.
