Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused China of providing weapons to Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine. He said that next week, he would share detailed evidence to support this claim.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv on Thursday, Zelenskyy revealed that Ukraine’s intelligence services had information showing that China had sent gunpowder and artillery ammunition to Russia. He also mentioned that China is involved in producing some weapons on Russian soil. “We already have facts about this work of China and Russia,” the Ukrainian president said. “And these are bad facts.” However, in a statement released Thursday evening, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, stated that China "has not — and will not—provide weapons to any party involved in the conflict. This position has been consistent and clear.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond right away to emails asking for his comment. 

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is trying to draw more attention to China’s support for Russia, as he works to convince U.S. President Donald Trump’s hesitant administration to keep sending military aid to Ukraine. Zelenskyy’s strong criticism of China comes at a time when Trump is also getting tougher on Beijing. Tammy Bruce, a spokesperson for the US State Department, informed reporters on Thursday that she would not confirm details. However, she said “it’s clear that Beijing and China-based companies provide key economic and technical support to regimes like Russia, North Korea and Iran and its proxies,” including “dual-use items Russia needs to sustain its war in Ukraine.” 

U.S. President Donald Trump has shown frustration over how slowly negotiations with Moscow are moving, especially since Russia still hasn’t agreed to a ceasefire. He has also blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the ongoing conflict with Russia. Recently, after two Chinese nationals were captured in eastern Ukraine, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s intelligence services had found that at least 155 Chinese citizens were fighting alongside Russian forces—a number he later said had grown to several hundred. Zelenskyy also claimed that the Chinese government knows Russia is trying to recruit Chinese citizens to fight, though China has denied this accusation. 

European officials told Bloomberg News last year that Chinese and Russian companies are working together to develop an attack drone similar to an Iranian one used in Ukraine. This suggests that China might be moving closer to directly helping Russia with weapons, despite warnings from Western officials. Zelenskyy claimed that he had questioned Chinese President Xi Jinping personally about whether China was arming Russia. “He gave me his word that weapons would not be sold and sent to Russia,” the Ukrainian president said. “But we see other information.”