Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed that Chinese citizens are helping to produce drones at a facility in Russia and suggested that Moscow may have “stolen” drone technology from Beijing.
The Ukrainian leader made the comment at a news conference in Kyiv on Tuesday, just days after he said China was supplying weapons and gunpowder to Russia and following the recent capture of two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia against Ukrainian forces.
“I asked the Security Service of Ukraine to transfer information of a broader nature to the Chinese side regarding Chinese citizens who work at the drone factory,” Zelenskyy told the news conference.
“We believe that it may be that Russia stole – made an agreement with these citizens outside the agreements with the Chinese leadership – stole these technologies,” he said.
“The information also describes the relevant Chinese technologies for working on these drones. I think it will be important for Beijing to see how their partners are working with them,” he said, according to the Ukrinform news site.
The Ukrainian president’s suggestion that Russia may have obtained drone technology from China without Beijing’s knowledge may indicate a softening of Zelenskyy’s tone towards the Chinese, the Reuters news agency said. China has strongly denied involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that it had summoned Chinese Ambassador Ma Shengkun to express Ukraine’s “serious concerns about the facts of the participation of Chinese citizens in military action against Ukraine”.
Zelenskyy previously said at least 155 Chinese were fighting with the Russian army – two of whom were recently captured by Ukraine – and that he had “information” that China was supplying arms to Russia.
Ukraine’s “Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyinis stressed that the participation of Chinese citizens in hostilities against Ukraine on the side of the aggressor state, as well as the involvement of Chinese companies in the production of military products in Russia, are of serious concern and contradict the spirit of partnership between Ukraine and China,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Evidence of these facts was passed by the Ukrainian special services to the Chinese side,” the ministry said.
The deputy foreign minister “called on the Chinese side to take measures to stop supporting Russia in its aggression against Ukraine, which Beijing has repeatedly stated is not the case,” the ministry added.
China last week staunchly denied providing weapons.
“The Chinese side has never provided lethal weapons to any party in the conflict, and strictly controls dual-use items,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Friday.
There was no immediate comment on the latest Ukrainian statements from either Russia or China.
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