Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country has received information that China is supplying weapons to Russia. China has dismissed the claim.

Zelenskyy made the remark at a news conference on Thursday. He said the information was from intelligence services and it concerned gunpowder and artillery.

He said Ukraine believes that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on the territory of Russia. He expressed his intention to talk about the issue in detail next week.

Zelenskyy said the supply of weapons to Russia was a fact he did not want to see, as China had promised that it would not do so.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated at a news conference on Friday that Beijing firmly opposes what he called Ukraine's "groundless accusations."

Lin said, "We have never provided lethal weapons to any party to the conflict," adding that "We have worked actively for a ceasefire." He noted that China has "strictly controlled the export of dual-use articles," or products that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.

Kyiv has also accused China of effectively allowing more than 150 of its citizens to join Russian troops to fight against Ukraine.

Observers say the recent development may cause the two countries' relations to deteriorate.