Ukraine has been seen fighting back against a Russian spring offensive as remarkable footage shows its tanks breaching Dragon’s Teeth fortifications to move onto Vladimir Putin’s territory in Belgorod region.
The video shows Ukrainian forces close to village Demidovka on the border between the two countries.
Ukraine holds a sliver of Russian territory here – as it does a larger area of Kursk region – humiliating the Kremlin dictator.
Separately, Ukraine was seen in a bomb strike on a Putin command post in occupied Kherson region.
‘Thanks to the professional skills of Ukrainian pilots, the concrete structure was completely destroyed,’ said Kyiv’s armed forces general staff.
‘The losses are being clarified, but 20-to-30 occupiers were killed,’ the General Staff reported.
But Ukraine has warned the West that Russia is ignoring Donald Trump’s peace moves and has doubled the number of military assaults on the frontline.
Ukraine’s commander in chief Oleksandr Syrsky said that a spring offensive by Russia had ‘already begun’ as the Kremlin seeks to occupy significantly more territory in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions by the time meaningful negotiations start.
The video shows Ukrainian forces close to village Demidovka on the border between the two countries
Ukraine holds a sliver of Russian territory here – as it does a larger area of Kursk region – humiliating the Kremlin dictator
Syrsky said: ‘For several days, almost a week, we have been observing almost a doubling of the number of enemy offensive actions in all main directions.’
He added that Russia has also been increasing assaults on the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the south of Ukraine, while continuing to press along the eastern front in Donbas.
‘Despite all the ongoing negotiations, we are only seeing an increase in the intensity of offensive actions,’ Syrsky told local media.
Putin’s forces staged major attacks on Kyiv and other cities overnight.
There were major fires in several districts .
In Mykolaiv, ten people were wounded as fires raged in the city.
Ukrainian city Sloviansk was hit by a huge explosion from a drone strike as Putin seeks to advance in Donetsk region which he has failed to fully grab despite controlling much of it when the hot conflict started in 2022.
The Ukrainian SBU secret service revealed the first interrogations with two Chinese prisoners of war fighting for Russia, who were held in Donetsk region.
‘They are now giving evidence about how they ended up in the war in Ukraine and what tasks they performed as part of the Russian Armed Forces on the territory of our country,’ said the SBU.
Zelensky said they had reason to believe there were ‘significantly more’ in the Russian ranks
Video purported to show Chinese citizens detained after fighting for Russia
Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed at least 155 Chinese nationals are fighting for Russia, accusing Beijing of ‘turning a blind eye’ to the trend.
‘This is the second mistake for Russia,’ Zelensky said last night.
‘The first was North Korea. They drag other countries into war. I believe that they are now dragging China into this war.’
‘Russia’s involvement in this war in Europe of China, directly or indirectly, is a clear signal that [President] Putin is going to do anything but end the war,’ Zelensky added.
‘This definitely requires a reaction. A reaction from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who wants peace.’
One of the POWs was captured by soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the 157th Motorised Rifle Brigade near Tarasivka, the other by the 1st Battalion of the 81st Motorised Rifle Brigade near Bilogorivka.
They were named as Wang Guangjun, 33, and Zhang Renbo, 32.
‘The captured foreigners do not have combat wounds, but they are receiving the necessary medical care, as provided for by the Geneva Convention.
Vladimir Putin meets with the Governor of the Moscow Region in Moscow on April 8
The ruined town of Maryinka, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on April 1, 2025
‘They were taken to Kyiv for urgent investigative measures. They are being held in appropriate conditions that meet the requirements of international law.
‘Communication with prisoners takes place through interpreters.’
Both POWs said ‘they were captured by Ukrainian soldiers on their first combat mission’.
One – unemployed – was recruited by a Russian representative directly in China, said the SBU.
In February 2025, he arrived in Moscow and signed a contract with Putin’s army.
The other posed as a tourist, and signed for combat with the promise of an £18,150 payment.
The POWs are facing war crimes charges, said the SBU.
Zelensky said: ‘We believe that [the Russians] have not changed their plans – Sumy, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia directions.
‘They do not forget about the east. This [provides] access to the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
‘This was their plan from the very beginning of the war.’
Zelensky said he was ready to exchange the Chinese prisoners of war for Ukrainians detained by Russia, adding that he was also demanding answers as to why they were on the frontlines in the first place.
Andrii Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said he had summoned the Chinese chargé d’affaires, writing on X: ‘Chinese citizens fighting as part of Russia’s invasion army in Ukraine puts into question China’s declared stance for peace and undermines Beijing’s credibility as a responsible permanent member of the UN security council.’
China said last night that while it was seeking to clarify Ukraine’s claims, it decried Zelensky’s claim that there are many more Chinese soldiers in the warring nation fighting alongside Russian troops as ‘groundless.’
China’s foreign ministry said: ‘Ukraine should correctly view China’s efforts and constructive role in seeking a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis.
A view of the ruined and abandoned town of Maryinka (Mariinka) in the Donetsk region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on April 1, 2025
Servicemen from the 24th Mechanized Brigade firing a 120mm mortar at Russian army positions near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, 16 March 2025
‘The Chinese government has always asked its citizens to stay away from areas of armed conflict [and] avoid involvement in armed conflicts in any form.’
Western officials told the Times they hadn’t seen evidence of China sponsoring the fighters.
One compared the Chinese soldiers’ involvement in the war to the presence of British soldiers in Ukraine’s army, who fight without government backing.
But despite apparently volunteering for Russia’s army, Chinese mercenaries claim to have have been regularly abused by their Russian counterparts.
One mercenary, who identified himself as Zhou Ziqiang in a video posted to Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, said: ‘The Russians don’t see us as human beings. We fight like a suicide squad, and they don’t care if we die or get hurt.’
