Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine has evidence of Chinese involvement in Russia’s war effort, including the supply of machinery used in weapons production and the presence of Chinese mercenaries on the battlefield, Ukrinform reports.
Despite public commitments to neutrality, China maintains close economic and strategic ties with Russia, including trade, energy cooperation, and technology transfers. Analysts say Beijing has balanced its relationship with Moscow carefully, avoiding overt military involvement while providing support that can indirectly aid Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
Speaking in Kyiv during a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel, Zelenskyy said his message to China is simple: stop assisting Russia and pressure Moscow to end the war.
“I’ve had phone conversations with Xi Jinping, and he assured me that China would not sell weapons to the Russians. [However], we see that China has supplied the Russian Federation with machinery used for weapons [production], Zelenskyy said.
“We also see that [China] is helping Moscow circumvent sanctions. And we’ve seen Chinese mercenaries fighting against Ukrainian troops,” he added.
Ukrainian intelligence has reported that China supplies components to 20 Russian weapons factories, provides satellite data for missile targeting, and has at least 155 nationals fighting in Russian units.
Since 2022, China and Russia have deepened their strategic partnership, with bilateral trade hitting $237 billion in 2024.
