Ukraine-Russia conflict newest: Zelensky confronts Beijing over Chinese residents preventing for Putin
Volodymyr Zelensky has said his military has captured two Chinese soldiers, confirming Beijing have joined Russia’s war effort in the three-year-old war.
Ukrainian officials have found identification cards, bank cards and personal data on the two men, confirming their Chinese identity.
Kyiv’s forces engaged in battle with six Chinese troops in Donetsk, the Ukrainian president said, adding that Ukraine believes there are “many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than just these two”.
“Russia’s involvement of China, along with other countries, whether directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin intends to do anything but end the war,” he wrote.
But it is understood that UK officials have so far found nothing that links the captured troops to the Chinese government.
Kyiv demanded an explanation from Beijing, summoning China’s charge d’affaires as foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the development “undermines Beijing‘s credibility as a responsible permanent member of the UN Security Council”.
Ukraine says Russia launched 55 drones during overnight attack
The Ukrainian air force said that Russia launched 55 drones during its overnight attack.
The air force shot down 32 drones and another eight did not reach their targets likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, according to the statement on Telegram.
It did not specify what happened to the remaining 15 drones.
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Russia says it has pushed Ukraine from one of its last footholds in Kursk region
Russia has said it is close to regaining full control of its western Kursk region after pushing Ukrainian forces from one of their last footholds there.
Alexander Khinshtein, the governor of Kursk who was appointed by Vladimir Putin in December, said the raising of Russia’s flag in Guyevo meant Russian forces were on course to regain control of the region “very soon”.
Russia’s defence ministry released video of what it said was the recapture of the settlement of Guyevo set to dramatic music, showing smoke rising into the air from various buildings.
A soldier was waving the Russian flag from the window of a heavily damaged Orthodox church, and Russian troops carrying out house-to-house checks in case any Ukrainian soldiers were hiding.
Ukraine did not respond to Russia’s claims but the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement that its planes had struck a complex of hangars and military buildings in the Kursk region being used by Russian drone operators and maintenance workers.
Russia shuts several airports due to major Ukraine aerial raid
Several flights have been disrupted in Russia this morning after Ukraine launched a major air raid operation using drones.
Russia’s civil aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said that several airports in Russia’s south were closed in the early hours today to ensure air safety.
It is not immediately clear how many airports were shut down in which parts of Russia.
But the Russian defence ministry, in a post this morning, confirmed the areas targeted by at least 158 Ukrainian drones.
Of these, at least 67 drones were downed over Krasnodar Krai, 29 over Rostove region and several others over Crimea, Kursk, Belgorod, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, the defence ministry said.
The ministry only reports the number of drones destroyed, not how many were launched.
Ukraine launches major overnight drone attack over Russia
Ukraine launched a major overnight drone attack on Russia, disrupting flights early this morning in the southern part of the country and forcing the evacuation of residents from dozens of apartments in the Rostov region, Russian officials said.
The Russian defence ministry said its air defence units destroyed 158 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 29 over the southern Rostov region.
There were no immediate reports of injuries, but residents from 48 apartments in a building in the Rostov town of Aksay were evacuated due to the threat from a possible detonation of a fallen drone, the region’s acting governor said on Telegram.
‘Many more’ Chinese soldiers fighting for Russia claims Zelensky after two captured
Two Chinese soldiers have been captured inside Ukraine fighting alongside Vladimir Putin’s forces, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday as he claimed there are “many more” among Russia’s ranks.
Ukrainian forces battled six Chinese citizens in the eastern Donetsk region and took two prisoner, according to the Ukrainian president, who shared footage of one of the prisoners, who appeared with his hands zip-tied together.
Russia destroys 158 Ukrainian drones overnight
Russia’s air defence units destroyed 158 drones overnight, the Russian defence ministry said on its Telegram channel this morning.
Of these, at least 67 drones were downed over Krasnodar Krai, 29 over Rostove region and several others over Crimea, Kursk, Belgorod, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, the defence ministry said.
General calls for US to maintain presence in Europe
The US should keep its military presence on the European continent as it is now, the top US general in Europe has said, as the Pentagon reviews its global footprint under president Donald Trump.
“It’s my advice to maintain that force posture as it is now,” US Army General Christopher Cavoli told lawmakers during a House Armed Services Committee hearing.
The US military has more than 100,000 troops in Europe, but US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has told European colleagues that they should not assume that the US presence will last forever.
General Cavoli is the commander of the US forces in Europe, and said the military had periodically reviewed its troop levels on the continent since 2022 – when Washington poured 20,000 troops into the continent after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – but he had recommended against bringing troop levels down.
“I have consistently recommended throughout that period to maintain the forces we surged forward, and I would continue to do so if asked,” he added.
US calls reports of Chinese troops in Ukraine ‘disturbing’
US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce has said the reports of Chinese nationals captured in Ukraine were disturbing.
He did not say whether Washington has verified the claim.
Yesterday, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian forces captured two Chinese men fighting for Russia in eastern Ukraine, potentially threatening a fragile peace effort in the three-year-old war.
Beijing is a close diplomatic ally of Moscow but is not publicly known to have directly aided in the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion, which US president Donald Trump is seeking to swiftly end.
Mapped: All Ukrainian incursions into Russia – including activity in Belgorod confirmed by Zelensky
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.
After Ukraine’s foothold in Russia’s Kursk region collapsed in dramatic fashion – despite Ukrainian troops remaining in small pockets of the area – Kyiv may be searching to rebuild the leverage it had hoped to keep for any future ceasefire negotiations.
Zelensky blames Putin for including China in Ukraine war
Vladimir Putin is to be blamed for the inclusion of Chinese troops fighting alongside Russian forces in the war in Ukraine.
“Russia’s involvement of China, along with other countries, whether directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin intends to do anything but end the war,” Mr Zelensky said.
Putin is “looking for ways to continue fighting,” the Ukrainian president said.
He has called for a response to China joining Russia’s war efforts from the US, Europe and “all of those around the world who want peace”.
China and Russia have not yet commented on Mr Zelensky’s claim about Chinese fighters.
Previously, Russia has never explicitly confirmed using North Korean troops in its Kursk region despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Source: independent.co.uk
