Ukraine detains Chinese father-son duo for alleged espionage
The Chinese nationals are accused of attempting to smuggle secret documents on Ukraine’s Neptune missile system to China, further straining Kyiv-Beijing relations
Ukraine said on Wednesday it had detained a Chinese father and son, both suspected of spying on its prized Neptune anti-ship missile programme, a key part of Kyiv’s growing domestic arms industry critical to its defence against Russian invaders.
The announcement by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) follows assertions by Kyiv in recent months that Beijing, which has sought to project an image of neutrality, is helping the Kremlin’s war effort.
Counter-intelligence officials arrested a 24-year-old former student in Kyiv after they provided him with “technical documentation” related to Neptune production, it said in a statement.
They later detained his father, who had aimed to smuggle out the documents to the Chinese special services, the SBU said. The father had been living in China but visited Ukraine to “personally coordinate” his son’s work, the agency said.
A Ukrainian official said the two men were the first Chinese people arrested for spying since Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion.
The Chinese Embassy in Kyiv did not respond to a request for comment, and a lawyer for the men could not immediately be found.