China rejects claim ‘significant’ number of troops fighting alongside Russians

Ukrainian forces said two Chinese men had been fighting alongside Russian soldiers (Ukraine’s 65th Mechanised Brigade via AP)

Ukraine’s claim that significant numbers of Chinese nationals are fighting alongside Russia’s invading army is “totally unfounded”, an official in Beijing said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Tuesday that the Ukrainian military had captured two Chinese men fighting alongside the Russian army in the eastern Donetsk region, and had information that “significantly more” are serving alongside Russian forces.