Volodymyr Zelensky has shared a new video revealing part of the interrogation of two captured Chinese soldiers, after Beijing called his claims about them “baseless”.
The video shows that the two captured Chinese soldiers carried passports from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), one of which was issued in 2023.
The captured soldiers reveal details of their experience fighting in Ukraine alongside Russia, with one of them claiming that fighting in the Ukraine war was his first deployment and he had never held a weapon before. The other soldier, who identified himself as Wang Guangjun, said his own side dropped gas on him when it looked like he was about to be captured and he had surrendered, but he was saved by a Ukrainian soldier.
Mr Zelensky claimed Beijing was turning a blind eye to the fact that Russia was recruiting Chinese citizens via social media. He said Ukraine’s intelligence shows at least 155 Chinese citizens fighting for the Russian military against Ukraine.
Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said he was “not convinced yet” the Chinese personnel identified as fighting on behalf of Russia against Ukraine were more than mercenaries or volunteers.
At least 12 injured in Russian drone attack on two Ukrainian cities
Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and the southern city of Mykolaiv overnight, injuring at least 12 people, authorities said this morning.
At least two women were injured in the capital where drones also sparked a fire at a storage facility and damaged residential buildings, Kyiv city military administration said.
Authorities recorded 30 drones in the airspace over the capital, 16 of which were destroyed and the rest either left the airspace or were “lost”.
The overnight attack also injured 10 people in the southern city of Mykolaiv, its regional governor Vitalii Kim said.
The Russian assault also damaged nine apartment buildings, 30 garages and an administrative building, he added.
Russia downs 48 Ukrainian drones, defence ministry says
Russian air defence systems destroyed 48 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight and this morning, Russia’s defence ministry said.
Of these, 13 drones were downed each in Bryansk region and Kursk region, 12 drones – over Kaluga region, the other were shot down in Belgorod, Moscow and Oryol regions and over Russia-annexed Crimea, the defence ministry said.
Only Trump can decide on US troop moves in Europe, US defence secretary says
Only president Donald Trump will make decisions about the future of US troops in Europe, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said yesterday, when asked if he would keep troop levels at their current levels.
“The only person that will make a determination about force structure of US troops in Europe will be President Trump, the commander-in-chief,” Mr Hegseth told reporters during a trip to Panama.
“And we will continue to have ongoing discussions, including inside the context of Ukraine-Russia negotiations, of what our force posture should be on the continent that best addresses American interests and ensures burden sharing in Europe as well.”
Mr Hegseth’s remarks came a day after the top US general in Europe said the United States should keep its military presence on the continent as it is now, as the Pentagon reviews its global footprint under Mr Trump.
Former Russian minister convicted in UK for violating British sanctions
A former Russian government minister became the first person to be convicted in the UK of circumventing sanctions put in place after the illegal annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Mr Ovsiannikov, 48, was convicted in Southwark Crown Court of six out of seven counts of circumventing sanctions between February 2023 and January 2024. The jury couldn’t reach a verdict on the final count.
Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, who was appointed governor of Sevastopol in Crimea by Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2016, used a British bank account to illegally receive tens of thousands of pounds from his wife and accepted gifts and payments from his brother, prosecutors said.
“He knew he had been on the UK sanctions list since 2017 but chose to ignore this,” said Julius Capon of the Crown Prosecution Service. “Another member of his family sought deliberately to breach the sanctions to live their own lavish lifestyle and showed complete disregard for the law,” he said.
One trapped as Russian drones attack Kyiv
Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early today, according to local officials who said one person was trapped in a destroyed house and drone fragments fell in two districts.
Timur Tkachenko, head of the capital’s military administration, said one person remained trapped in the Darnytskyi district on the east bank of the Dnipro River.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said fragments from a downed drone started a fire in a storage area in Holosiivskyi district on the other side of the river.
Emergency crews were working at both sites.
Russia still using North Korean troops in Kusk, says ISW
Russia is continuing to utilise North Korean troops in Kursk Oblast, the Institute for the Study of War said, citing Ukraine’s Ukrainian commander-in-chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi.
General Syrskyi said Ukraine has observed at least two waves of North Korean forces training and replenishing their forces, presumably on the frontline or in near-rear areas, and that North Korean forces continue to operate against Ukrainian forces in Kursk oblast.
It is not clear yet if the North Korean troops are operating as combat forces in Ukraine, the ISW said.
North Korean forces are improving their training, weapons, and equipment after suffering significant losses in battle and North Korean forces have “effectively switched to the standards of the Russian military,” General Syrskyi said.
“North Korean forces fighting in Ukraine itself would likely mark a decision point for Western and Pacific countries concerned about North Korean escalation in the war in Ukraine and the continued combat experience North Korean forces gain fighting alongside Russian forces,” the ISW said.
What has China said so far on Zelensky’s allegations
China has swiftly denied that its soldiers are fighting the war in Ukraine alongside Russia.
Volodymyr Zelensky said the Ukrainian military had captured two Chinese men fighting alongside the Russian army on Ukrainian soil, marking the first time Ukraine had made such a claim about Chinese fighters in the war.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in Beijing that China has played a “constructive role in politically resolving the Ukraine crisis.”
Mr Lin told a daily news briefing yesterday that “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.”
His comments appeared to indicate that the captured Chinese had joined Russia’s ranks on their own initiative.
Both Russia and Ukraine allow foreign soldiers to enlist.
China has previously put forward a vague peace plan that was swiftly dismissed by most observers.
More than 150 Chinese mercenaries recruited by Putin fighting against Ukraine, says Zelensky
He showed journalists documents that he said listed the names, passport numbers and personal information on the recruits, including when they arrived in Russia for military training and departed for service.
The Kremlin is recruiting Chinese people via social media – and Beijing knows it, according to Ukrainian intelligence, Mr Zelensky said.
He said Kyiv was trying to assess whether the recruits were receiving instructions from the Chinese government.
In China, officials branded the allegations “totally unfounded”.
Mapped: All Ukrainian incursions into Russia – including activity in Belgorod
The Ukrainian president described the move as “absolutely justified” as Ukraine looks to stave off Russian advances, as Moscow delays ceasefire negotiations in an apparent effort to seize more land.
According to a battlefield map by war analysts the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrainian troops in Belgorod advanced as far as the settlement of Demidovka, around two kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
Here’s a look at all of Ukrainian-held Russian territory:
What the capture of Chinese soldiers says about Beijing’s role in Ukraine
The Chinese prisoner has a fearful expression as his Ukrainian captors train a video camera on him. He speaks in Mandarin, the common language of his homeland. His green uniform is like any regular soldier’s. But is it proof that China is fighting alongside the Russian army?
This is a hybrid war and while China has not disputed the facts, the boundaries of truth are cloaked in deniability. The incident – astutely publicised by Ukraine just as America is in a trade showdown with China – has illuminated the shadows of a very modern conflict.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said his troops captured two Chinese citizens after a skirmish in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. They found identity documents, bank cards and other evidence of their nationality. In most armies that would be a severe security lapse.
Michael Sheridan writes:
Source: independent.co.uk