1 week Ago By Jacqueline-housden
WASHINGTON DC — In the continuing battle over whether a peace deal is likely soon to prove possible in Ukraine, the country’s president now has some fresh ammunition at his disposal. The revelation that Chinese troops may have been fighting on Russia’s side in the war is threatening to upend US President Donald Trump’s early efforts to tilt the outcome of any peace agreement in Russia’s favour.President Volodymyr Zelensky says two Chinese soldiers captured after a firefight in near the eastern city of Donetsk were fighting on behalf of the Kremlin’s forces, and represent the tip of an as-yet undisclosed iceberg.
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addToArray({"pos": "inread-hb-ros-inews"}); }“They have they have passports, they even have credit cards”, said Zelensky of the captured men. “I think this is a very important development and the United States of America needs to pay more attention”, he said, claiming “there are many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than just these two”.The Ukrainians released video showing the captured troops discussing recent battlefield manoeuvres in fluent Mandarin, a move that appears to represent a breach of the Geneva conventions protecting the identity of prisoners-of-war.
Some reports suggest that several hundred Chinese nationals may have flown to the region to fight as mercenaries alongside the Russians, but Zelensky himself seemed to concede that it is unclear whether the authorities in Beijing bear any responsibility for the presence of the men on disputed Ukrainian soil.if(window.adverts) { window.
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adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l1"}); }“Russia’s involvement of China..
.whether directly or indirectly in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin intends to do anything but end the war”, said Zelensky, announcing that immediate consultations would begin with Chinese officials about the incident.Two successive US administrations have warned the Chinese against direct involvement in the conflict, with both former President Joe Biden and Trump insisting that Beijing would face reprisals if it either contributed personnel or weaponry to the Russian war effort.
China has publicly claimed to remain neutral in the conflict, though it has continued to supply Moscow with components used in armaments and has also purchased Russian oil sanctioned by the United States and its western allies. While North Korea has contributed troops to Putin’s “meat grinder” in Ukraine, China – until now – faced no similar accusations.In March 2023, China presented a peace plan to end of the conflict that was dismissed out-of-hand by the Biden White House after it failed directly to describe Russia as the aggressor.
But more recently Beijing has welcomed Trump’s efforts to kick-start negotiations, with state-run China Daily calling last month’s face-to-face talks between US and Russian diplomats in Riyadh “a major step forward in efforts aimed at ending the...
conflict”.The Ukrainian leader’s determination to use the discovery of Chinese nationals in the conflict zone to his own advantage comes just 10 days after Trump described himself as “pissed off” and “very angry” with Putin’s criticism of Zelensky’s credibility. In Kyiv, government officials hope that they can capitalise on Trump’s frustration with Putin by urging the White House to focus on the as-yet unexplained presence of Chinese nationals fighting on Russia’s side.
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addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l2"}); }At the State Department, spokeswoman Tammy Bruce described the capture of the two Chinese troops as “disturbing”. She said that like North Korea, China is a “major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine” and argued that Beijing “provides nearly 80% of the dual use items Russia needs to sustain the war..
..As President Trump has said, continued co-operation between thee two nuclear powers will only further contribute to global instability and make the United States and other countries less safe, less secure and less prosperous”.
But whether the American calculus in peace negotiations changes appreciably as a result of the Chinese prisoners-of-war now in Ukrainian detention is uncertain. Trump is currently threatening Russia with fresh sanctions if Putin fails to advance down the path to peace. He is also locked in a furious war-of-words with Beijing over mutual retaliatory tariffs.
But it was notable that last Wednesday, when the US President fired the opening salvo in his global trade war, there were no “reciprocal” tariffs placed on the Kremlin, while Zelensky’s government – like the UK – was slapped with additional duties of 10% on all exports to America..
