Ukraine-Russia battle newest: 155 Chinese preventing for Putin’s forces says Zelensky – whereas UK hosts Nato summit
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”.
In the video, one soldier said he had never held a weapon before his first deployment, while the other claimed Russian troops dropped gas on him after he surrendered.
Mr Zelensky said Beijing was turning a blind eye to Russian recruitment of Chinese citizens via social media, adding that Ukraine’s intelligence shows at least 155 Chinese citizens fighting for Russia.
The Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday warned against making “irresponsible remarks” regarding Beijing’s involvement in Ukraine, without naming Mr Zelensky.
Meanwhile, Defence ministers from around 30 countries will meet at the Nato headquarters today, as they look to flesh out an agreement for sending troops to police any peace deal in Ukraine.
British defence secretary John Healey will co-host the meeting with his French counterpart, as they look to drum up support for peacekeeping efforts in the war-torn country.
The so-called coalition of the willing is seen as a test of Europe’s ability defend itself alone, amid ongoing uncertainty around the extent to which the US will engage in any peacekeeping efforts.
Watch: Zelensky says more Chinese citizens are serving with Russia’s troops in Ukraine
Boy, 16, among 12 injured in drone attack on Nikopol
A 16-year-old boy has been left in a serious condition after a Russian drone attack on the city of Nikopol in southern Ukraine.
The attack injured 11 other people, regional governor Serhii Lysak said, and a dormitory and five cars were damaged.
Pictured: Ukrainian troops defend eastern Donetsk front from Russian advances
Kremlin responds to Chinese troops in Ukraine
The Kremlin on Thursday dismissed comments by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that China was being drawn into the conflict in Ukraine, saying that Beijing has a “balanced position”.
China warned Ukraine against making “irresponsible” remarks after Mr Zelensky said Ukrainian intelligence had revealed at least 155 Chinese citizens were fighting for Russia.
After Ukraine, US eyeing Pakistan’s rare minerals
After Ukraine, the US is looking at Pakistan in its continued hunt for rare minerals, Islamabad announced on Wednesday.
Pakistan has one of the world’s largest copper and gold deposits as well as rich quantities of lithium, a key component in batteries.
In return for past and future military and financial support in the war against Russia, the Donald Trump administration has been asking Ukraine for a deal that would give the US nearly half of the war-torn country’s revenues from critical minerals, oil and gas as well as stakes in key infrastructure like ports through a joint investment fund.
Arpan Rai reports:
Russia releases dual citizen who donated to Ukraine charity in US prisoner swap
Russia has released a dual citizen who was jailed for donating to a charity providing aid to Ukraine in exchange for a German-Russian citizen accused of exporting US electronics for use in Moscow’s military.
Ksenia Karelina, who was found guilty of treason by a Russian court last year for donating money to a US charity providing humanitarian support, is on her way to the US.
Mr Karelina’s lawyer said she was released in a swap with Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen arrested in 2023 in Cyprus for exporting sensitive microelectronics.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.
Central Intelligence Agency director John Ratcliffe said: “Today, President Trump brought home another wrongfully detained American from Russia. I’m proud of the CIA officers who worked tirelessly to support this effort, and we appreciate the Government of UAE for enabling the exchange.”
Moscow accuses Kyiv of striking energy infrastructure 11 times in past day
Russia’s defence ministry has claimed that Ukraine had carried out 11 attacks on energy infrastructure over the past day, the RIA state news agency reported.
This marks an increase from the day before and a violation of a US-brokered moratorium on such strikes, Moscow claimed.
Ukraine and Russia agreed to pause strikes on each other’s energy facilities last month, but both sides have repeatedly accused each other of breaking the moratorium.
The Independent was unable to verify the battlefield reports.
US-Ukraine minerals negotiations to begin in Washington on Friday
The US and Ukraine will begin technical consultations on a minerals deal in Washington on Friday, deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna said according to Interfax Ukraine.
They will discuss a new draft agreement from the US, which is more extensive than the one which fell through following Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump’s White House clash on 28 February.
“The new draft agreement from the U.S. shows that the intention to create a fund or jointly invest remains,” Svyrydenko said Saturday, during a trip to northern Ukraine.
The delegation from Kyiv will include representatives from the Ministries of Economy, Foreign Affairs, Justice and Finance, who will hope to bolster the strained relations between Ukraine and the US amid long-running negotiations over a mineral deal.
What to expect at the coalition of the willing meeting today
The so-called coalition of the willing will be meeting in Brussels today to go over plans for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
At 1pm, defense ministers from around 30 countries will arrive at the Nato headquarters and make statements.
This will be followed by a meeting of the ministers at 2pm.
British and French representatives are looking to drum up support from a number of countries who have appeared reluctant to put troops on the ground, given Washington’s reluctance to back up peacekeeping efforts with its own military.
Source: independent.co.uk
