The Russian army receives gunpowder and artillery from China — this is information Ukraine has from SBU and intelligence.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this at a briefing for journalists.
"Important, not very pleasant information. We finally received information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation. Today we have information from SBU and intelligence about gunpowder and artillery," Zelensky said.
According to him, more detailed information about this will be released next week. In particular, it will be discussed that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on Russian territory.
Separately, the president noted that he was not surprised by this information, but would not like to see the relevant facts.
"I had a conversation with the Chinese leader [Xi Jinping] during this war with Russia and I asked a direct question about weapons. He gave me his word that weapons would not be sold or sent to Russia. But we see different information. In any case, we already have facts about this work by China and Russia to strengthen their defense capabilities. And these are bad facts," the head of state emphasized.
What preceded
Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 8 that two Chinese citizens who fought as part of the Russian army were captured in the Donetsk region.
The Office of the President noted that Ukrainian defenders engaged in combat with six Chinese servicemen near the settlements of Tarasivka and Bilohorivka in the Donetsk region. This was the first publicly known case of the participation of Chinese servicemen in the war against Ukraine on the side of the Russian Federation.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned the Chinese chargé dʼaffaires, demanding an explanation for the participation of citizens of that country in the war.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was “checking the information with the Ukrainian side”. The Foreign Ministry stressed that the Chinese government has always asked its citizens to “stay away from armed conflict zones” and avoid any participation in hostilities or conflicts.
Zelensky stressed: Ukrainian special services have information that the Russian army includes at least 155 Chinese citizens. Ukrainian intelligence has their documents.
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