Taiwan offers talks with Ukraine after Zelensky names island as source of Russian arms
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Responding on his X account in English, Mr Lai Ching-te said Taiwan has long worked with global partners to “staunchly support Ukraine through humanitarian aid & coordinated sanctions”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TAIPEI - Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Jan 23 offered talks with Ukraine to crack down on sanctions-busting after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky name-checked the island as a source of illicit missile components.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022,
Speaking in Davos on Jan 22, Mr Zelensky said Russia would not be able to produce missiles without “critical components sourced from China, Europe, the United States, and Taiwan”, showed excerpts published on the Ukraine president's website.
Responding on his X account in English, Mr Lai said Taiwan has long worked with global partners to “staunchly support Ukraine through humanitarian aid & coordinated sanctions”.
“We welcome further exchanges of information with President @ZelenskyyUa to further clamp down on illegal 3rd country transshipment & concealed end-use,” he said, posting a picture of orchids in the colour of Ukraine’s flag.
Mr Lai said “there have been young Taiwanese who have sacrificed their lives to defend freedom in Ukraine”, referring to volunteer soldiers who have died fighting against Russia.
“We remain clear: any assistance to the aggressor or violations of int’l embargoes & export control regulations are unacceptable. We pray for peace to be restored to Ukraine soon.”
Reuters could not reach the Ukraine presidential office for comment outside of office hours.
In November, Taiwan said it was revising export controls to comply with the Wassenaar Arrangement, an international agreement aimed at preventing weapons proliferation, though diplomatically isolated Taiwan is not a signatory.
While senior Taiwan officials have spoken directly with some Ukrainian city mayors, there has been no publicly acknowledged direct contact between the two governments.
Like most countries, Ukraine only has formal diplomatic relations with Beijing, not Taipei.
Taiwan and Ukraine do not have de facto embassies in each other's capitals, and Taiwanese humanitarian aid to Ukraine has mostly been coordinated by Taiwan’s diplomatic offices in central and eastern Europe.
Taiwan has compared the Russian invasion of Ukraine to China’s military threat against an island it claims as its own. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
Late in 2025, a senior Taiwanese military officer told a forum in Poland that if Russia defeats Ukraine it would embolden China in its behaviour towards Taiwan and that Taipei hoped Kyiv emerged victorious. REUTERS
