Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today accused China of "delivering weapons" to Russia and participating in the "production of certain weapons" on Russian territory, further intensifying his criticism of Beijing.
"We finally received information that China is supplying weapons to Russia. We believe that Chinese representatives are involved in the production of certain weapons on Russian territory," Zelensky said at a press conference.
Zelensky did not elaborate on his accusations, but he mentioned "gunpowder and artillery" and promised to talk more about it next week.
Ukrainian authorities announced last week that they had captured two Chinese citizens who were fighting with the Russian army.
Zelensky then accused China of being "involved" in the conflict, while Beijing dismissed the accusations as "unfounded."
The Ukrainian president said that "several hundred" Chinese citizens are fighting in the ranks of the Russian army in Ukraine.
China presents itself as a neutral party and potential mediator in this conflict, but remains a key political and economic ally of Russia.
Beijing has been accused of helping Moscow circumvent Western sanctions by allowing it to acquire technological components necessary to produce weapons for war.
However, this is the first time that Zelensky has accused China of directly supplying weapons to Moscow.
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