Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has detained a Chinese father and his 24-year-old son on suspicion of attempting to smuggle classified documentation on the RK-360MC Neptune anti-ship missile program out of the country. The agency said the son, a former student expelled from a Kyiv technical university in 2023, tried to recruit a Ukrainian involved in weapons development and was arrested in the capital with technical papers and mobile phones allegedly containing evidence. His father, who resides in China but visited Ukraine to oversee the operation, was later taken into custody. If convicted, the two men face up to 15 years in prison and confiscation of property. Beijing said it is “still verifying” the detentions. Foreign-ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press briefing that China would safeguard the “legitimate rights and interests” of its nationals once the facts are confirmed. The case is believed to be the first arrest of Chinese nationals for espionage in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, adding fresh strain to already tense Kyiv-Beijing relations. Ukraine accuses China of supplying technologies that bolster Russia’s war effort, allegations Beijing denies while portraying itself as neutral.