Taiwan Invites Ukraine to Coordinate on Curbing Sanctions-Busting After Davos Remarks

Taipei, Jan 23 — Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Friday offered to open talks with Ukraine to help crack down on sanctions-busting after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy singled out the island as a source of illicit missile components.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskiy said Russia could not produce some missiles without "critical components sourced from China, Europe, the United States, and Taiwan," according to excerpts posted on the Ukrainian president's website. In response, Lai posted on X in English that Taiwan has long worked with global partners to "staunchly support Ukraine through humanitarian aid & coordinated sanctions."

Lai said Taipei welcomes further exchanges of information with President @ZelenskyyUa to "clamp down on illegal third‑country transshipment and concealed end‑use," and accompanied his post with a photo of orchids in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. He also noted volunteers from Taiwan who have died fighting in Ukraine, saying:

"There have been young Taiwanese who have sacrificed their lives to defend freedom in Ukraine."

Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Lai invited Zelenskiy to pass on any specific intelligence on sanctions evasion and said Taiwan is prepared to tighten controls on goods routed through third countries whose final destinations are concealed, to prevent diversion to Russia and to protect Ukraine.

In November, Taiwan announced revisions to its export controls to align with the Wassenaar Arrangement — an international regime aimed at preventing weapons proliferation — although Taiwan is not a formal signatory due to its diplomatic situation. Taiwan has progressively tightened export rules since Russia's 2022 invasion to limit the transfer of dual‑use and high‑tech items for military ends.

While some senior Taiwanese officials have engaged directly with Ukrainian city mayors, there has been no publicly acknowledged formal government‑to‑government contact between Taipei and Kyiv. Like most countries, Ukraine maintains formal diplomatic relations with Beijing rather than Taipei, so Taiwanese humanitarian assistance has generally been coordinated through Taipei's diplomatic offices in Central and Eastern Europe.

Taiwanese officials have drawn parallels between Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the security threat Taiwan faces from China, which claims the island. Taipei's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims and has said a Russian victory in Ukraine could embolden similar acts of aggression elsewhere.

Reporting: Ben Blanchard. Editing: Christopher Cushing.