President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Tuesday that two Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russian forces had been taken as prisoners of war.

乌克兰总统泽连斯基周二表示，两名加入俄罗斯军队一方的中国公民被俘虏。

Mr. Zelensky said that the two Chinese citizens had been captured while fighting in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. He added that Kyiv had information that “there are many more such Chinese citizens in the enemy’s units,” without providing evidence. The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate comment from the Chinese or Russian governments.

泽连斯基称，这两名中国公民是在乌克兰东部顿涅茨克地区的战斗中被俘的。他还说，基辅掌握的信息显示，“敌方部队中还有更多这样的中国公民”，但没有提供证据。这些说法无法得到独立证实，中国和俄罗斯政府也没有立即发表评论。

The announcement came at a fraught moment for Ukraine as the Trump administration has seemingly drawn closer to Russia while trying to act as a mediator in cease-fire talks.

他宣布这一消息之时，乌克兰正在担忧，特朗普政府试图在停火谈判中扮演调解人的角色，但似乎偏向俄罗斯一方。

Mr. Zelensky on Tuesday did not suggest that the Chinese fighters had been sent by China’s military, but he pointed to their presence as further evidence that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was not truly interested in peace.

泽连斯基周二没有表示这些中国战斗人员是由中国军方派遣的，但他指出，这些战斗人员的出现进一步证明，俄罗斯总统普京并不是真的想要和平。

“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,” he wrote on social media.

“俄罗斯让中国和其他国家直接或间接地卷入这场欧洲战争，这是一个明确的信号，表明普京什么都想做，就是不想结束战争。他正在寻找继续战斗的方法，”他在社交媒体上写道。

Mr. Zelensky said that he had instructed his foreign minister to “immediately contact Beijing and clarify how China intends to respond to this.” The foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, confirmed that he had summoned the Chinese chargé d’affaires to demand an explanation.

泽连斯基说，他已指示外交部长“立即与北京联系，澄清中国打算如何回应此事”。外交部长安德里·西比哈证实，他已召见中方临时代办，要求作出解释。

“Chinese citizens fighting as part of Russia’s invasion army in Ukraine puts into question China’s declared stance for peace,” Mr. Sybiha wrote on social media.

西比哈在社交媒体上写道，“中国公民作为俄罗斯侵略军的一部分在乌克兰作战，让人对中国宣称的和平立场产生质疑。”

Both Russia and Ukraine have had foreign fighters in their ranks throughout the more than three years of war. In most cases they are foreign volunteers or mercenaries, though Russia’s military has enlisted the help of North Korean soldiers.

在三年多的战争中，俄罗斯和乌克兰的军队中都有外国战斗人员。在大多数情况下，他们是外国志愿者或雇佣兵，不过俄罗斯军方也得到了朝鲜士兵的帮助。

The presence of Chinese nationals on the front lines in Ukraine has never been reported in Chinese state media. However, there have been unverified reports on social media in China of mercenaries from the country fighting in Ukraine.

中国官方媒体从未报道过中国公民在乌克兰前线的情况。然而，中国社交媒体上有未经证实的报道称，有来自中国的雇佣兵在乌克兰作战。

While China has claimed neutrality in the war, Beijing has provided the Kremlin with both diplomatic and economic backing during the conflict, support that the Biden administration said allowed Russia to sustain its offensive.

尽管中国声称在战争中保持中立，但北京在冲突期间向克里姆林宫提供了外交和经济支持，拜登政府称这些支持使俄罗斯得以维持攻势。

俄罗斯总统普京与中国国家主席习近平。虽然中国声称在乌克兰战争中保持中立，但北京却向克里姆林宫提供了外交和经济支持。

China purchases huge quantities of Russian oil and supplies Moscow with technologies that can be used on the battlefield, such as drones. Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, and Mr. Putin have met numerous times and deepened their countries’ ties to include more military cooperation.

中国从俄罗斯购买大量石油，并向莫斯科提供无人机等可用于战场的技术。自俄罗斯于2022年2月开始全面入侵乌克兰以来，中国最高领导人习近平和普京多次会晤，加深两国关系，包括更多的军事合作。

Mr. Zelensky’s announcement about the Chinese fighters came hours after he confirmed for the first time that Ukrainian forces were operating in the Belgorod region of Russia.

在宣布发现中国战斗人员的几小时前，泽连斯基首次证实乌克兰军队在俄罗斯别尔哥罗德地区的活动。

The New York Times reported last month that Ukrainian troops had been making a new cross-border push, into Belgorod, after being driven out of the Kursk region. Military analysts said that the aim of the operation might be to divert Russian forces away from Kursk — where Ukraine’s troops lost nearly all of the territory seized in a cross-border offensive last summer — or to gain a new patch of land that could serve as leverage in peace negotiations.

《纽约时报》上月报道称，乌克兰军队在被赶出库尔斯克地区后，一直在向别尔哥罗德发起新的越境攻势。军事分析人士表示，这次行动的目的可能是将俄罗斯军队从库尔斯克引开——乌军去年夏天越境攻击库尔斯克时占领的领土，如今已经几乎全部失去——或者是为了占领一片新的区域，作为和平谈判的筹码。

In his nightly address on Monday, Mr. Zelensky said that military operations in Kursk and Belgorod were aimed at protecting Ukrainian regions on the other side of the border. Calling the moves “completely justified,” he added, “The war must return to where it came from.”

泽连斯基在周一夜间的讲话中表示，在库尔斯克和别尔哥罗德的军事行动旨在保护边境另一侧的乌克兰地区。他称这些举动“完全合理”，并且“必须把战火烧到战争发起者身上去”。