US committee says Chinese fighters in Ukraine have Beijing's tacit approval

1/5/2025 5:43

U.S. lawmakers have

asked the State Department to brief them about Russia's use of

Chinese fighters in its war in Ukraine, saying in a letter to

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday that Moscow could

only employ Chinese mercenaries with Beijing's "tacit approval."



Earlier this month, Ukraine said its forces had captured two

Chinese men in eastern Ukraine and that at least 155 Chinese

nationals were fighting on the Russian side.



U.S. officials have confirmed the intelligence to Reuters,

but described the men as mercenaries who do not appear to have a

direct link to China's government.



The letter, sent by the House of Representatives' select

committee on China, reflects a growing desire among China hawks

in Congress to see President Donald Trump's administration

pressure China over its alignment with Russia.



The Republican chair of the committee, John Moolenaar, and

its top Democratic Representative, Raja Krishnamoorthi, said the

presence of Chinese fighters in Ukraine showed those deepening

ties.



"Given the Chinese Communist Party's broad control in

Chinese society, it is clear that Russia's recruitment campaign

of PRC (People's Republic of China) nationals could not exist

without at least the tacit approval of the Party," the lawmakers

told Rubio in the April 30 letter seen by Reuters.



They asked the State Department to outline for Congress

whether the U.S. has confronted Beijing about the developments

and what actions it was pursuing to address it.



China, which has declared a "no-limits" partnership with

Russia, has condemned "irresponsible remarks" about its

nationals fighting in Russia's war in Ukraine. Beijing has tried

to position itself as an actor in attempts to negotiate an end

to the war, though it has refrained from criticizing Moscow's

2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.



China's embassy in Washington reiterated that the Chinese

government always asks Chinese nationals to "avoid any form of

involvement in armed conflict, and in particular avoid

participation in any party's military operations."



The State Department has called the reports of Chinese men

fighting in Moscow's war "disturbing."



In a separate statement to Reuters, Krishnamoorthi said the

Trump Administration "must demand that the PRC immediately

remove its citizens from the battlefield in Ukraine and take

action to hold Beijing accountable for its broader military and

dual-use support" for the war.



Moolenaar said China was "not a neutral actor" in the war.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Russia was

recruiting Chinese nationals via social media to join its armed

forces and that Beijing officials were aware of that.



China has for years provided Moscow with material support

for its war effort, primarily in the shipment of dual-use

products – components needed to maintain weapons such as drones

and tanks. It has also supplied Russia with lethal drones to use

on the battlefield.