Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping (File)

Tuesday’s Coverage: Kyiv Establishes Foothold in Russia’s Belgorod Region

UPDATE 1359 GMT:

The European Union is allocating another financial assistance package of €1 billion ($1.1 billion) to Ukraine as part of the G7 loan program.

Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shymhal said after meeting EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis in Brussels, “We are grateful to our partners for supporting the economy and the rapid recovery of our country.”

Western nations froze around $300 billion in Russian assets after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with roughly two-thirds held in Europe. The assets back a $50 billion Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loan, which will be repaid with proceeds from the funds.

The EU is providing around €18.1 billion ($20 billion), with another $20 billion from the US and the rest from the UK, Canada, and Japan.

Shmyhal also announced agreements with the European Investment Bank:

European Investment Bank

UPDATE 1350 GMT:

China’s Foreign Ministry has said, in response to reports of the capture of two Chinese nationals fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, “The Chinese side is verifying relevant information with the Ukrainian side.”

Spokesperson Lin Jian told a press conference, “The Chinese Government has always asked its citizens to stay away from areas of armed conflict [and] avoid involvement in armed conflicts in any form.”

The Ukrainian military said that, according to one of the two Chinese men captured in the Donetsk region, he paid 300,000 rubles (around $3,500) to a middleman in China to join the Russian military in exchange for the promise of citizenship.

The man said received training in the occupied Luhansk region alongside other Chinese nationals. He learned basic skills without an interpreter, relying on hand gestures and a mobile translator.

UPDATE 1004 GMT:

Carl Shreck of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty supports Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s report of Chinese nationals fighting alongside Russians in Ukraine.

Aleksei Zhilyayev, a Russian soldier seeking asylum in France, said five Chinese nationals were serving in the 254th Regiment. He recalled one of them:

After hospitalization, he was thrown into our second platoon, second company reserve battalion. He didn’t speak Russian, he only knew two phrases: “The Russian Army is f**ked up’ and ‘Hi there, I’m f**king sick of you.”

UPDATE 0838 GMT:

At least one civilian has been killed and at least 34 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

Air defenses downed 32 of 55 drones launched by Russia overnight, and eight were lost to electronic counter-measures.

The fatality and seven of the wounded were in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine.

Seventeen people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine, including in a Russian drone attack on Dnipro city (see 0710 GMT).

Casualties were also reported in the Donetsk region in the east and the Kherson region in the south.

UPDATE 0727 GMT:

Ukraine has reportedly attacked three Russian airbases in a mass drone strike.

The bases are in Engels, the main base for Russia’s strategic bombers; Mozdok; and Orenburg. An arsenal of missile and artillery weapons was attacked in the Penza region.

The Russian Defense Ministry claims 158 UAVs were downed overnight.

The Ukrainian military said it killed more than 50 Russian troops in strikes on Monday, including on a command post in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine and a military depot in the Kursk region in western Russia.

UPDATE 0710 GMT:

At least 15 civilians were injured by a Russian drone attack on Dnipro city in south-central Ukraine on Tuesday night.

Eight people remain hospitalized, with seven in “moderate” condition.

Four houses, 15 high-rise buildings, about 20 cars, several enterprises, and administrative buildings were damaged.

Russia also launched more than 20 drones on Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine. At least two civilians were injured amid 15 explosions and multiple fires.

Four people were injured in the Kherson region in the south by Russian attacks. A multi-story building, 15 private houses, outbuildings, and private vehicles were damaged.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops have captured two Chinese nationals fighting alongside Russia’s invaders in the east of the country.

Zelensky posted on social media:

Zelensky said troops clashed with six Chinese soldiers near the villages of Tarasivka and Bilohorivka in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. The captured troops are being held by Ukraine’s Security Service.

Citing “information suggesting that there are many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than just these two”, the President summarized:

Russia’s involvement of China, along with other countries, whether directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin intends to do anything but end the war. He is looking for ways to continue fighting. This definitely requires a response. A response from the United States, Europe, and all those around the world who want peace.

Instructed by Zelensky to contact Beijing for a response by Chinese officials, the Foreign MInistry summoned China’s charge d’affaires to express condemnation and demand an explanation.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote, “Chinese citizens fighting as part of Russia’s invasion army in Ukraine puts into question China’s declared stance for peace and undermines Beijing’s credibility as a responsible permanent member of the UN Security Council.”

China offered no public response, and its State media did not refer to any developments in Ukraine.

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters, “It’s disturbing with the Chinese soldiers having been captured.”

She added, “China is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine. China provides nearly 80% of the dual-use items that Russia needs to sustain the war.”