China denies masses of its troops fighting for Russia

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Wednesday said Ukraine’s claim that significant numbers of Chinese soldiers were fighting for Russia was completely unfounded. China encourages its citizens to stay away from conflict zones and refrain from getting involved in armed conflict, Lin said.

What were the claims he was responding to? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said that his country’s military had captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting for Russia in the Donetsk region. The men had documents, cards, and data that personally identified them, he said. The captured soldiers were being held by the Ukrainian Secret Service, he said.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence had information that many more Chinese soldiers were fighting in Russia’s ranks. He demanded an explanation from Beijing and said Russia’s involvement of China in the war was a clear sign Putin did not want peace.

What’s the latest on the U.S.-led peace negotiations? The acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Dorothy Shea, on Tuesday said that Russia should bear in mind that strikes on civilians can damage peace efforts. She referenced its deadly attack on a residential street in the town of Kryvyi Rih last week, which killed 11 adults and nine children, Reuters reported.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, claimed the strike was meant to hit Ukrainian troops but changed direction when Ukrainians attempted to intercept it. Any negotiation process must decrease Ukraine’s military capability, he said, according to Reuters. Ukraine's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Khrystyna Hayovyshyn responded by saying Russia was disregarding the peace process and committing atrocities. Global pressure on Putin was the only way to end the war, the Ukrainian diplomat said.

Dig deeper: Listen to Kim Henderson’s podcast story on a family determined to bring their adopted Ukrainian children home.