Ukraine says captured two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia

KYIV, Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops had captured two Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russian forces, adding Kyiv would demand an explanation from Beijing and a reaction from its allies.

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,” Zelensky said in a post on social media.

“We have the documents of these prisoners, bank cards, and personal data,” 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.