On Tuesday, April 8, Ukrainian President Zelensky announced that two Chinese citizens, who were representing the Russian military in the Ukrainian battlefield, were captured. The U.S. State Department expressed concern over this news.
Zelensky stated that the Ukrainian military obtained the documents, bank cards, and personal data of these two Chinese citizens who were arrested in the Donetsk region, indicating that there are more than just two Chinese individuals fighting for the Russian military.
The U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce highlighted in a briefing on Tuesday that the U.S. had learned about Ukraine capturing two Chinese citizens representing Russia in combat, deeming the news “disturbing.”
Bruce added that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the “primary enabler” of Russia’s war efforts and claimed that Beijing provides dual-use products to Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that the involvement of Chinese citizens in combat as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine raises doubts about Beijing’s proclaimed peace stance.
The Russo-Ukrainian war has lasted for three years, with the Chinese Communist Party consistently providing various forms of support to Russia. On April 26, 2024, then-U.S. Secretary of State Blinken met with high-ranking CCP officials in Beijing, expressing the strongest possible condemnation of China’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He directly pointed out that without China’s backing, Russia’s attack on Ukraine would be difficult to sustain.
He mentioned that China is the largest supplier of mechanical tools, microelectronics, nitrated fibers (essential for manufacturing ammunition and rocket propellants), and other dual-use products. President Putin is leveraging these products to bolster its defense industry, producing rockets, drones, tanks, and other weapons. Blinken emphasized that Putin is using these weapons to invade a sovereign country, destroy its grid, other civilian infrastructure, and kill innocent children, women, and men.
“Without China’s (CCP) support, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine would be hard to maintain,” Blinken stated.