After battling the Russian moles planted, the Ukrainian security forces are now reportedly facing spying attempts on high-value military equipment by Chinese nationals living in the country.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on July 9 that it had arrested two Chinese nationals in Kyiv on suspicion of attempting to steal classified military material associated with the Neptune cruise missile system.
The two men, a 24-year-old former student at a technical institution in Kyiv and his father, were collecting classified documents to unlawfully transfer them to Chinese intelligence, the SBU stated. It is currently not known whether this spying operation was solely for China’s own benefit or undertaken to assist Russia.
Beijing said it was still “verifying” the case of a Chinese father and son detained by Ukraine for allegedly trying to smuggle navy missile technology out of the war-torn country.
“If Chinese citizens are involved, we will… safeguard Chinese citizens’ legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
According to the SBU, the younger individual was expelled from a Ukrainian university in 2023 due to poor academic performance, but he remained in the country. He allegedly attempted to recruit a Ukrainian national with access to confidential defense technologies to gather technical information on the RK-360 MC Neptune missile system.
The Ukrainian investigators disclosed that the former student was apprehended “red-handed” while transferring confidential documents, which was swiftly followed by the arrest of his father, who personally oversaw this entire spying mission and aimed to had aimed to smuggle out the documents to the Chinese special services.
Both suspects are facing espionage charges and risk property confiscation and up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
Notably, the discovery comes just days after Ukraine’s military counterintelligence agents, aided by the Naval Command and the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, arrested a 33-year-old Ukrainian service member accused of spying for Russian military intelligence.
The Russian mole was preparing a Russian attack on Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship complexes, as previously reported by the EurAsian Times.
The accused was allegedly hired by Russia’s military intelligence to track down Ukrainian units that were operating the Neptune missile installation in southern Ukraine. The accused was instructed to provide the geolocation information of missile units in charge of protecting the Black Sea’s coastline, the SBU noted at the time.
These spying attempts put the Neptune missile system in the spotlight.
Currently the most potent missile developed indigenously by Ukraine, the Neptune missile first shot to fame on April 14, 2022, when it dealt a devastating blow to the Russian Navy by sinking the Russian cruiser Moskva, one of the largest warships in the Black Sea Fleet and a significant asset in Russia’s naval arsenal.
The loss of the Moskva, estimated at US$750 million, stands as one of the most substantial setbacks for Russia in its campaign against Ukraine so far.
The missile was hailed as a game-changer that compelled Russia to withdraw its Black Sea Fleet further away from Ukrainian shores.
Additionally, its presence has been instrumental in dissuading Moscow from pursuing planned landing operations on Ukrainian territory, notably including Snake Island, situated well within the formidable striking range of the Neptune missile system.
Curious Case Of Chinese Spies In Ukraine
Though the SBU has stated that the Chinese spies in Ukraine were working for Chinese intelligence, it is unclear whether it was solely for Beijing’s benefit or an attempt to assist Russia, a close Chinese ally.
Ukraine has repeatedly accused China of assisting Russia in the grinding war by helping Moscow circumvent international sanctions, supplying dual-use goods, and indirectly supporting the Russian military-industrial complex.
In addition to that, there is also speculation that Chinese troops have been sent and assimilated into the Russian military to bolster the country’s war effort against Ukraine.
A footage of two Chinese soldiers allegedly in Ukraine surfaced on social media in March 2025, with Ukrainian commentator and former adviser to Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Anton Gerashchenko, noting that it allegedly shows Chinese people wearing Russian military uniforms—one bearing the insignia of the Bars unit. You can read a detailed EurAsian Times report on this here.
Additionally, in April 2025, Ukraine also accused China of supplying weapons and gunpowder to Russia, though no direct evidence was provided.
China has always maintained that the country is “not a party” to the war and remains “neutral” in the three-year-old war. However, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, on July 3 that the country cannot afford for Russia to lose the war in Ukraine, amid fears that the US would shift focus towards Beijing. It is, thus, highly likely that the spying is part of an elaborate assistance to Moscow.
Moreover, this is not the first time that Chinese nationals have been apprehended on charges of spying in a foreign country. Several such cases have been reported from other parts of the world.
For instance, the US recently arrested two Chinese nationals for spying inside the country earlier this month. The two were reportedly taken into custody on suspicion of clandestinely carrying out China’s orders without legally registering as foreign agents with the US Justice Department.
“This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country – we will expose foreign operatives, hold their agents to account, and protect the American people from covert threats to our national security.”
The spying on the US military has also transcended geography, with several cases emerging out of countries that host the US military assets, most notably in South Korea. Chinese drones in South Korea recorded US aircraft carriers on two different occasions.
As previously noted by EurAsian Times, the Chinese spy network is augmented by thousands of Chinese expatriates, guest researchers, students, and businesspeople sending information back to their homeland. Several countries have expressed fear that China actively uses students as pawns to spy for it.
Last year, Germany alleged that the People’s Republic of China had established an army of spies to monitor its adversaries. Meanwhile, the British intelligence agency, M15, warned that more than 20,000 people in the UK had been approached covertly online by Chinese spies. The agency further warned that tens of thousands of British businesses are at risk of having their innovation stolen.
Chinese spies have also reportedly infiltrated Taiwan, which Beijing considers its sovereign territory and wants to occupy. Over the past year, Taiwan has witnessed a troubling rise in espionage cases implicating not just rogue actors on the fringe but sitting legislators, political aides, and retired military officials, including figures from the ruling DPP.
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