Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused China of providing weapons to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine and pledged to reveal concrete evidence in the coming week. Speaking to journalists in Kyiv on Thursday, Zelenskyy claimed Ukrainian intelligence had discovered that China supplied Russia with gunpowder and artillery shells, and was also involved in weapons manufacturing within Russian territory.

The Kremlin has yet to comment on the allegations, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov not responding to media inquiries. Zelenskyy’s remarks come as he attempts to pressure Beijing and convince the hesitant administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to maintain military aid for Ukraine. His strong stance against China coincides with Trump’s increasingly confrontational position toward the Chinese government.

While U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to confirm Zelenskyy’s specific claims, she acknowledged that Chinese companies are clearly offering vital economic and technical support to nations like Russia, North Korea, and Iran — including dual-use technology critical to Russia’s ongoing military campaign. “We already possess factual evidence of China and Russia’s collaboration,” Zelenskyy said. “And these are disturbing facts.”

In response, Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu reiterated Beijing’s long-standing position that China has not, and will not, provide weapons to any parties involved in the conflict. Zelenskyy also alleged that Kyiv had detained two Chinese nationals in eastern Ukraine and identified over 150 — a figure he later revised to “several hundred” — Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russian forces. He claimed Beijing is aware of Moscow’s recruitment of its nationals, though China denies this.

Additionally, European sources told Bloomberg News that Chinese and Russian companies have been co-developing an armed drone similar to Iranian models used in Ukraine, hinting at deeper Chinese military support for Russia despite international warnings. Zelenskyy said he had directly confronted Chinese President Xi Jinping about the matter. “He assured me that China would not send weapons to Russia,” Zelenskyy said. “But the evidence we now see tells a different story.”

Disclaimer: This image is taken from Reuters.