(Reuters) – Ukraine imposed sanctions on three Chinese companies on Friday, a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy alleged that China had been supplying weapons to Russia.
China’s foreign ministry earlier on Friday dismissed Zelenskiy’s accusation as groundless. While maintaining close economic ties with Russia during Moscow’s three-year war in Ukraine, China has sought to project an image of neutrality and denies any involvement in the war.
Zelenskiy’s administration on Friday published an updated list of sanctioned entities. The list, which also includes Russian companies, named Beijing Aviation And Aerospace Xianghui Technology Co. Ltd, Rui Jin Machinery Co. Ltd, and Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Xining Co. Ltd, all described as registered in China.
It did not give details of why they had been added to the sanctions list, which bans companies from doing business in Ukraine and freezes their assets there.
Ukraine exported $8 billion of goods to China in 2021, mostly raw materials and agricultural products, while it imported from China just under $11 billion, mainly in manufactured goods, according to the Ukrainian government.
On Thursday, Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv his government had evidence that Chinese firms were supplying what he described as artillery and gunpowder to Russia, and that Chinese entities are making some weapons on Russian soil.
He did not offer any evidence for the assertion.
A week earlier, Zelenskiy had said Chinese nationals were fighting on Russia’s side in the war with Ukraine, including two who had been taken prisoner. A Chinese diplomat was summoned to the Ukrainian foreign ministry to provide an explanation.
Ukrainian and U.S. officials later said the men had signed up on their own initiative for money.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa and Christian Lowe; Editing by Peter Graff)
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