China urges citizens to avoid war zones after Kyiv captures two nationals

BEIJING - China’s foreign ministry on April 9 urged its citizens to avoid conflict zones and participating in wars after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said troops had captured two Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russian forces.

“The Chinese side is verifying relevant information with the Ukrainian side,” spokesperson Lin Jian said, adding: “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.”

The Kremlin declined to comment on this matter on April 9.

Mr Zelensky told reporters on April 8 that Ukrainian troops had captured the two Chinese citizens fighting with Russian forces in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.

Moscow and Beijing have in recent years boasted of their “no limits” partnership and deepened political, military and economic cooperation since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

“Our military captured two Chinese citizens who fought in the Russian army. This happened on the territory of Ukraine – in the Donetsk region,” Mr Zelensky said, in a post on social media.

“We have the documents of these prisoners, bank cards and personal data,” Mr Zelensky said, in a post that included a video of one of the alleged Chinese prisoners.

The video showed a man wearing military fatigues with his hands bound, mimicking sounds from combat and uttering a small number of words in Mandarin, during an apparent interview with a Ukrainian official not pictured.

At one point, he is heard saying the word “commander”.

A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that the prisoners were likely Chinese citizens who were enticed into signing a contract with the Russian army, rather than being sent by Beijing.

They were captured “a few days ago”, the source said, adding there may be more of them.

“Nothing is completely clear yet. When they are delivered to the SBU (Ukraine’s security service) and at least interrogated, we will understand,” the source added.

The source sent images of ID cards linked to one of the prisoners, which showed the date of his birth as June 4, 1991, and said he belonged to the Han ethnicity – the majority ethnic group in China.

‘Decisive enabler’

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on social media that China’s charge d’affaires had been summoned for an explanation.

“Chinese citizens fighting as part of Russia’s invasion army in Ukraine puts into question China’s declared stance for peace and undermines Beijing’s credibility as a responsible permanent member of the UN Security Council,” Mr Sybiha said.

China presents itself as a neutral party in the conflict and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

But it is a close political and economic ally of Russia, and Nato members have branded China a “decisive enabler” of Moscow’s invasion, which Beijing has never condemned.

US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a speedy end to the war since taking office, but his administration has failed to reach a breakthrough.

Kyiv has repeatedly urged Beijing to pressure Moscow to end its invasion, which has cost tens of thousands of lives and so far failed to achieve the Kremlin’s core objectives.

‘Urgent’ discussions

Mr Zelensky said Kyiv had evidence that “many more Chinese citizens” are fighting alongside Russian forces, which Chinese spokesperson Lin said was “absolutely groundless”.

“The Chinese side’s position on the issue of the Ukraine crisis is clear and unequivocal, and has won widespread approval from the international community,” he said.

“The Ukrainian side should correctly view China’s efforts and constructive role in pushing for a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis.”

Mr Zelensky said the capture of the two men and Moscow’s involvement of China in the conflict were “a clear signal that Putin is going to do anything but end the war”.

Mr Zelensky also demanded “a reaction from the United States, Europe and everyone in the world who wants peace” in his post online.

“I think the United States should pay more attention to what is happening today,” he said separately, at a press conference in Kyiv.

The war in Ukraine, now grinding through its fourth year, has attracted thousands of foreign fighters to both sides.

Ukraine has been urging its Western partners to respond to the Russian deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to the western region of Kursk.

Ukraine has been struggling to hold ground after launching an offensive on the border region in 2024.

“The North Koreans fought against us in the Kursk region, the Chinese are fighting on the territory of Ukraine. And I think this is an important point that we need to discuss with our partners, I think urgently,” Mr Zelensky said.

Kyiv, which dispatched its then-foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba to China in 2024, has been seeking to deepen ties with Beijing.

Mr Zelensky appointed a new ambassador to China this week. AFP