KYIV (AFP) — Ukraine’s foreign ministry called in China’s ambassador on Tuesday to raise “serious concern” over claims that Chinese fighters were in the Russian army and Chinese companies were helping Russia make military hardware.

Beijing, though, hit back on Wednesday, calling the claims “groundless.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said at least 155 Chinese were fighting with the Russian army — two of whom have been detained by Ukraine — and that he had “information” that China was supplying arms to Russia. China last week denied providing weapons.

The foreign ministry summoned China’s envoy in Kyiv, Ma Shengkun, over the accusations and produced “evidence” to back the claims, the ministry said late Tuesday.

“Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyinis stressed that the participation of Chinese citizens in hostilities against Ukraine on the side of the aggressor state, as well as the involvement of Chinese companies in the production of military products in Russia, are of serious concern and contradict the spirit of partnership between Ukraine and China,” said a ministry statement.

“Evidence of these facts was passed by the Ukrainian special services to the Chinese side,” it added.

“Perebyinis called on the Chinese side to take measures to stop supporting Russia in its aggression against Ukraine, which Beijing has repeatedly stated is not the case,” said the ministry.

“Perebyinis assured that our country values its strategic partnership with China and expects that China will refrain from taking any steps that could harm bilateral relations in the future.”

Asked about the diplomatic summons, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing: “China firmly opposes groundless accusations and political manipulation.”

Direct talks

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to halt the invasion of Ukraine on the current front line, the Financial Times (FT) reported Tuesday, as United States (US) leader Donald Trump seeks to make good on his promise to end the three-year conflict.

According to the FT, which quotes “people familiar with the matter,” Putin made the proposal during a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg earlier this month.

The article comes as Western and Ukrainian diplomats were expected to gather in London to discuss a potential settlement in the more than three-year conflict, with media speculation about what is on the table in the talks.

The Russian leader indicated he would be willing to withdraw Moscow’s claims to parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — four regions it partially occupies — the FT reported.

In return, the United States might accede to Russia’s other major demands, the financial daily added, including recognizing its sovereignty over the Crimean peninsula that it annexed in 2014, and barring Ukraine from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The Kremlin appeared to deny the claims.

“A lot of fakes are being published at the moment, including by respected publications, so you should only listen to primary sources,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told state news agency RIA Novosti.

Kyiv and its European allies have demanded a complete restoration of Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders, a position that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has described as “unrealistic.”