Ukraine's claim that significant numbers of Chinese nationals are fighting alongside Russia's invading army is "totally unfounded," a Beijing official said on Wednesday.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Tuesday that the Ukrainian military had captured two Chinese men fighting alongside the Russian army in the eastern Donetsk region and had information that "significantly more" are with Russian forces.
It was the first time that Ukraine had made such a claim about Chinese fighters on its soil amid Russia's almost three-year invasion.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in Beijing that China has played a "constructive role in politically resolving the Ukraine crisis."
Lin told a daily news briefing Wednesday that "the Chinese government always asks Chinese citizens to stay away from conflict zones, avoid getting involved in any form of armed conflict, and especially refrain from participating in any party's military operations."
His comments appeared to indicate that the captured Chinese had joined Russia's ranks on their own initiative.
China has provided strong diplomatic support for Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
Beijing has also offered an economic lifeline through the trade in energy and consumer goods, but has not knowingly provided Russia with troops, weapons or military expertise. It put forward a vague peace plan that was swiftly dismissed by most observers.
Previously, Ukraine and the United States have said that thousands of North Korean troops have helped Russia under an agreement between the Kremlin and the government in Pyongyang.
Both Russia and Ukraine allow foreign soldiers to enlist.
US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a briefing in Washington on Tuesday that the US was "aware" of the reports that Chinese citizens fighting on behalf of Russia were caught in Ukraine and called them "disturbing."
"China is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine," Bruce said. China provides nearly 80% of the dual-use items Russia needs to sustain the war, she claimed.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated in recent years amid disputes over trade, technology and geopolitical competition.
The Kremlin has effectively rejected a US proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting in Ukraine. The Kyiv government has consented to it. Both sides are believed to be readying spring-summer military campaigns.
In the meantime, both countries have kept fighting a war of attrition along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line and targeted each other with long-range strikes.
The city of Kramatorsk in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk endured a "massive drone attack" overnight, regional head Vadym Filashkin said, injuring an 11-year-old girl, her mother and her grandmother.
Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 55 Shahed and decoy drones at the country overnight.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 158 Ukrainian drones over 11 Russian regions overnight but reported no casualties or damage.
Several Russian regions temporarily suspended flights at their airports because of the attack, however, and some Ukrainian drones reached Russia's Orenburg region in the southern Urals located nearly 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) east of the Ukrainian border, the Defense Ministry said.