The Ukrainian military has successfully captured two Chinese men fighting alongside Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed this information on Tuesday, emphasizing that there are "significantly more" Chinese nationals with the Russian military.
China has not yet commented on the situation. Historically, Beijing is not known to have supplied Russia with weapons or military expertise. It remains unclear whether these Chinese individuals joined the conflict independently. Both Russia and Ukraine allow foreign nationals to enlist in their armed forces.
Zelenskyy stated that he instructed his top diplomat to "immediately contact Beijing". He pointed out that China would be the third nation, following Iran and North Korea, to offer military support to Russia amidst the ongoing conflict, according to reports from American and South Korean officials.
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Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China has consistently provided strong diplomatic support for Russia, alongside an economic lifeline through energy and consumer goods trade.
Zelenskyy reported a confrontation involving Chinese soldiers near the villages of Tarasivka and Bilohorivka in Donetsk, where six Chinese military personnel engaged with Ukrainian troops. He confirmed that two Chinese individuals were taken as prisoners.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, expressed concern by summoning China’s chargé d’affaires, demanding clarification. He stated on X that "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."
Zelensky also shared footage on X showing what he claimed was one of the two Chinese citizens captured by Ukrainian forces.
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On the battlefield, Russia has officially rejected a US proposal for an immediate 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, with both sides reportedly preparing for a spring-summer campaign.
Nico Lange, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, remarked, "I cannot see any indications that would lead to a ceasefire or even peace, but I see many indications for the continuation of the war."
Zelenskyy addressed the media in Kyiv alongside Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who announced a €1 billion ($1.85 billion) aid package for Ukraine this year. They discussed joint military manufacturing efforts and Belgian private investment in Ukraine’s defense sector.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned that Russian Foreign Ministry officials would participate in talks with the US in Istanbul planned for Thursday, although he did not specify the agenda, suggesting it might involve normalizing embassy operations and increasing staff numbers after years of diplomat expulsions.
Russia reclaiming ground in Kursk region
In the last 24 hours, Russian attacks on Ukraine resulted in at least three fatalities and 19 injuries, as reported by Ukrainian officials. Attacks occurred in the Ukrainian regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson.
Elsewhere, Russia’s Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday that it has recaptured one of the last villages held by Ukraine in the Kursk region, following Kyiv’s surprise cross-border incursion.
The statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence read, "The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to defeat the Ukrainian Armed Forces formations in the Kursk region. Units of the North group of forces have liberated the settlement of Guyevo in the Kursk region during offensive operations."
The US-based conflict monitor, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reported that Russian forces have made recent advances in Kursk. Their mapping indicates that Ukrainian troops now occupy only small areas within the Russian region.
Ukrainian troops have held part of the Kursk region since August 2024, although Russian forces have since reclaimed much territory.
In a related development, a Ukrainian regiment released video evidence on Tuesday showing strikes on Russia’s neighboring Belgorod region. This came one day after Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian troops are active in the area to protect towns near the border.
The 225th separate assault regiment claimed the video depicted their forces destroying two bridges in Belgorod, specifically in the villages of Grafovka and Nadezhevka. CNN has verified these locations.
"Then the drone operations and clearing the ground followed," the regiment stated in a Telegram post, confirming their presence on Russian territory.
According to ISW, Ukrainian forces initiated limited attacks in Russia’s northwestern Belgorod region on March 18, targeting areas directly across the border from Ukraine. The Russian Defence Ministry previously claimed to have repelled these attacks.
