Ukraine’s foreign ministry has summoned Beijing’s ambassador as Volodymyr Zelenskyy said citizens of China were working at a drone production site in Russia, possibly using “stolen” Chinese technology.The Ukrainian president said on Tuesday: “I asked the Security Service of Ukraine to transfer information of a broader nature to the Chinese side regarding Chinese citizens who work at the drone factory. We believe that it may be that Russia stole – made an agreement with these citizens outside the agreements with the Chinese leadership – stole these technologies.”
Beijing’s ambassador, Ma Shengkun,was summoned over the allegations, as well as evidence of Chinese citizens fighting in the Russian army.“[Ukrainian] deputy foreign minister Yevhen Perebyinis stressed that the participation of Chinese citizens in hostilities against Ukraine on the side of the aggressor state, as well as the involvement of Chinese companies in the production of military products in Russia, are of serious concern and contradict the spirit of partnership between Ukraine and China,” said a Ukrainian statement on Tuesday. Perebyinis “called on the Chinese side to take measures to stop supporting Russia in its aggression against Ukraine, the absence of which has been repeatedly stated by Beijing”.
Beijing had not responded to the latest claims at time of writing.Zelenskyy said on Thursday of last week that Ukrainian intelligence showed China was supplying weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery, and that Chinese representatives were involved in weapons production on Russian territory.China dismissed this as groundless, but Tuesday’s statements byZelenskyy made good on a promise to provide detailsthis week. Two alleged Chinese soldiers have beencaught by Ukraine and shown to the press, and Zelenskyy has said there at least 155 Chinese nationals operating on Russia’s side.The Chinese government has consistently denied providing military support to Russia or taking its side in the war.
Representatives from Ukraine, the UK, France and the US will meet in London on Wednesday to continue talks on a potential ceasefire.Media reports have suggested the US is promoting a “peace deal” that heavily favours Russia. Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Gen Keith Kellogg, will attend the discussions, according to a US state department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce. Contrary to a previous announcement,the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will not be attending.Even though he is the administration’s Ukraine envoy, Kellogg has been largely sidelined from the publicised peace talks that the US has been holding separately with Russia and Ukraine.
David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, will host the US and European negotiators in London. On Wednesday there wasspeculation that Russia has told Washington it might be willing to drop its claim to parts of Ukraine it does not occupy,write Dan Harding and Luke Sabbagh, giving rise to a ceasefire along roughly the existing frontlines. Russia has been demanding that Ukraine hand over the entirety of four eastern and southern regions its forces only partly occupy.
Russian overnight drone attackson east, south and central Ukraine damaged civilian infrastructure and businesses in the Poltava region and injured two civilians in the Odesa region, Ukrainian officials said early on Wednesday. Air defence units were also at work in the Kyiv region and in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, regional governors posted.
Russia hit a residential area in the eastern Ukrainian city of Myrnograd with drones on Tuesday,killing three people and wounding two, authorities said.One person was reported dead and 23 woundedafter two bombs hit the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, the region’s governor said. Russian strikes wounded another six people in the southern city of Kherson and seven in Kharkiv in the north-east, officials said.