More than one hundred Chinese citizens fighting for the Russian military against Ukraine are mercenaries who do not appear to have a direct link to China's government, two U.S. officials familiar with American intelligence and a former Western intelligence official said.

Kiev on Wednesday intensified its accusations against the government in Beijing following the capture of two Chinese nationals fighting on the Russian side in Ukraine. These are not isolated cases, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed in his evening video message on Wednesday.