China dismisses Zelenskyy’s claim it has supplied weapons to Russia

China’s foreign ministry has dismissed as “groundless” the accusation by Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the country had been supplying weapons to Russia.

The comments, made at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday, came a day after the Ukrainian president said China was supplying weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery, and that Chinese representatives were involved in weapons production on Russian territory.

In response, the ministry’s spokesperson, Lin Jian, said China had never made lethal weapons available to any party in the Ukraine crisis.

“China’s position on the Ukrainian issue has always been clear,” Lin said. “It has been actively committed to promoting a ceasefire and ending the conflict, as well as encouraging peace talks.”

Zelenskyy made the accusations at a press conference, saying Ukraine had information about China’s alleged assistance, and would be prepared to release more details next week.

“We see the cooperation between these two countries in this area, and we must acknowledge it is happening,” he said.

Ukraine on Friday imposed sanctions on three Chinese companies, banning them from doing business in Ukraine and freezes their assets in the country. It did not give details of why they had been added to the sanctions list.

China says it is a neutral party to the conflict, although its leader, Xi Jinping, and Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, are public allies, with a “no limits” partnership between their countries.

Last week, two Chinese nationals were captured in Ukraine fighting alongside Russian forces. At the time, Zelenskyy accused Moscow of trying to involve China “directly or indirectly” in the conflict.

He said the men were among at least 155 other Chinese members of Russia’s armed forces, and accused Russia of conducting “systemic work” in China to recruit fighters, including through social media. He claimed Beijing was “turning a blind eye” to the recruitment.

Beijing denied the accusations, suggesting the fighters were travelling to Russia independently and saying the government warned its citizens to stay away from all conflict zones.

“I would like to reiterate that China is not the initiator of the Ukrainian crisis, nor is China a participating party,” Lin said last week. “We are a firm supporter and active promoter of a peaceful settlement of the crisis.”