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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed that the country has intelligence suggesting that about 155 Chinese nationals are fighting for the Russian military against Ukraine.
According to Zelenskyy, the real number is likely to be much higher.
He stated this while speaking to reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy alleged that Russia was recruiting Chinese citizens via social media and insisted that Chinese officials were aware.
He added that Ukraine was trying to confirm if the recruits were receiving instructions from Beijing.
Read Also: Ukraine Hasn’t Held Elections Since Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion
“The ‘Chinese’ issue is serious. There are 155 people, with names and passport details, who are fighting against Ukrainians on the territory of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
“We believe that there are many more of them.”
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy revealed that the Ukrainian military had captured two Chinese men fighting alongside the Russian army on Ukrainian soil.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would have had to face a reelection campaign in the spring of 2024 if it had not been for Russia’s full-scale invasion. Now, the question of the legitimacy of his rule is being weaponized by Russia.
U.S. President Donald Trump also called Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections,” echoing Russian propaganda, but later appeared to rescind the comment by denying he said it.
It is not the first time Western officials have expressed concern about Zelenskyy’s tenure as president especially under martial law when his office has consolidated control of government policy to sustain and direct the war effort. Western officials have also privately expressed their preference for elections to take place in the last year, before Trump assumed office, according to lawmakers who maintain contacts with their European counterparts.
Zelenskyy has declined to hold polls until a ceasefire is declared in line with Ukrainian law and his Ukrainians largely support that decision.
