China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday urged its citizens to avoid conflict zones and refrain from participating in wars after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had captured two Chinese nationals fighting alongside Russian forces.
“The Chinese side is verifying relevant information with the Ukrainian side,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said. “The Chinese government has always asked its citizens to stay away from areas of armed conflict [and] avoid involvement in armed conflicts in any form.”
Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukrainian troops had captured the two Chinese citizens in the partially occupied Donetsk region, where intense fighting continues.
Ukraine also released a video purporting to show one of the captured individuals, who appeared in military fatigues with his hands bound. In the footage, the man mimicked combat sounds and spoke several words in Mandarin during what appeared to be an interrogation with an off-camera Ukrainian official.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP the two were captured “a few days ago” and suggested there could be more. The official said the prisoners were likely lured into signing contracts with the Russian military rather than being deployed at the behest of China.
The Kremlin has yet to comment on the claims.
Zelensky asserted there was evidence that “many more Chinese citizens” were fighting with Russian forces — a claim Lin dismissed as “absolutely groundless.”
“China’s position on the issue of the Ukraine crisis is clear and unequivocal, and has won widespread approval from the international community,” Lin said. “The Ukrainian side should correctly view China’s efforts and constructive role in pushing for a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis.”
Beijing maintains that it is a neutral party in the conflict and denies sending lethal assistance to either side — unlike the United States and its Western allies.
However, China remains a close political and economic partner of Russia and has not condemned Moscow’s invasion. NATO has described China as a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s offensive.
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