Moscow on Thursday dismissed claims from Kiev that Chinese nationals are fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
“This is not the case,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.
Peskov said China holds a “balanced” position in the war, even though China is a “strategic partner and friend” to Moscow.
His remarks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alleged that Chinese fighters were participating in the conflict on Russia’s side.
“Zelensky is not right,” Peskov said.
Despite its declared neutrality, China has faced criticism for supplying goods to Russia that are considered vital to its military-industrial complex, such as components used in drone manufacturing.
Zelensky announced earlier this week the capture in eastern Ukraine of two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia. He later claimed that Kiev had identified 155 Chinese citizens fighting for Russia.
He said their presence contradicted Beijing’s official position of neutrality and its repeated calls to avoid escalating the war.
China has firmly denied Zelensky’s allegations.
Kiev says Russian troops executed four Ukrainian soldiers
Authorities in Kiev also said on Thursday they are investigating the alleged killing of four captured Ukrainian soldiers by Russian forces.
Dmytro Lubinets, the human rights commissioner of the Ukrainian parliament, said the killing of the prisoners of war is believed to have occurred in March in the southern Ukrainian village of Piatykhatky.
As in previous such cases, the suspicion is based on a video that has been circulating on social media networks.
“They had no weapons. They walked out of a destroyed building with their hands raised, surrendering. They were shot dead on the spot,” Lubinets wrote on X.
“This is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention and a grave war crime,” he said, adding on Telegram that he will report the case to the International Red Cross and the United Nations for investigation.
Ukraine reports latest casualties
At least one person has been killed and five injured in a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, Zelensky said.
“Russia is clearly ignoring diplomacy and using its contacts with the world solely to serve its own interests – not to end the war,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
“What’s needed now is tactics of pressure – pressure on Russia to end the terror and the war. I thank everyone around the world who is helping us in this effort.”
In the capital Kiev, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said three people had been injured in drone attacks. The city authorities also reported that a warehouse caught fire due to debris from downed drones.
According to official figures, another 10 people were injured in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. It was reported that parts of drones fell on residential buildings there.
Unverifiable figures from the Ukrainian air defence service suggest that the Russian military deployed a total of 145 drones against six regions of Ukraine during the night.
The service reported that 85 flying objects were shot down, and 49 others disappeared from the radar without consequences.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years.
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