China Supplies Arms to Russia – Zelensky

President Volodmyr Zelensky said Kyiv is aware that Chinese parties have been supplying arms to Russia. 

Zelensky, speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday, said “representatives of China” have been “engaged in the production of some weapons on the territory of Russia,” adding that he will share more details next week.

“We finally received information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation. Today we have general information from the Security Service, from intelligence about gunpowder, artillery. And I think we will be able to talk about this in great detail next week,” Zelensky said, according to Interfax Ukraine. 

“We believe that representatives of China are engaged in the production of some weapons on the territory of Russia,” he added. 

Zelensky did not specify if he meant artillery shells or systems. 

The comment followed Zelensky’s announcement a week prior of two captured Chinese soldiers fighting alongside Moscow troops. 

The soldiers have ruled out Beijing’s involvement and said they joined voluntarily, albeit under false promises that they would serve without deployments to the front. 

One of the captured soldiers was recruited in China, while another claimed he was recruited while traveling in Russia due to financial constraints during his trip. Kyiv Post covered their motivations and recruitment process in a recent article.

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Zelensky said after announcing the two’s capture that more than 150 Chinese nationals are serving in the Russian Armed Forces, a claim Beijing dismissed as “irresponsible remarks.”

Beijing has yet to address Zelensky’s remarks on Chinese arms supplies to Russia at the time of publication. 

North Korea, an ally to Moscow and Beijing, has also reportedly supplied Russia with at least four million artillery shells over the past 20 months that have been actively used on the front lines in Ukraine.