Beijing says Zelenskyy's claims of Chinese weapons supply to Russia 'groundless accusations'

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - China on Friday rejected claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Beijing supplies weapons to Russia, calling them "groundless accusations," according to the Chinese state media.

During a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, Zelenskyy said: "We have finally received information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation," adding that the information about gunpowder and artillery came from the intelligence agencies, according to the media outlet Ukrainska Pravda.

"China firmly opposes groundless accusations and political manipulation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, noting that Kyiv "is aware" that Beijing "never provided lethal weapons to any party involved in the conflict and strictly controls the export of dual-use items," according to the state-media Global Times.

"Ukraine is well aware of this and has publicly stated that most components in Russia's imported weapons come from the US and other Western countries," said Lin.

The Ukrainian president had further alleged that "representatives of China are involved in manufacturing some weapons on Russian territory."

Zelenskyy's claim of Beijing supplying weapons to Russia comes after he alleged early this month that at least 155 Chinese citizens were fighting for the Russian military in Ukraine, and that two of them were arrested in the eastern Donetsk region, amid the Moscow-Kyiv war, which began in February 2022.

However, Beijing had called the Ukrainian president's claims "irresponsible."