The Chinese are fighting on the side of Russia? Zełenski: I know about at least 155 soldiers

We are ready to mention the captured China citizens only on Ukrainian soldiers found in Russian captivity – said the President of Ukraine Wołodymyr Zelnski on Wednesday. He emphasized that an appropriate signal was sent to Moscow.

According to Ukrainian media, Chinese soldiers were taken to Ukrainian captivity, Wang Guangjun, born in 1991, captured on April 4, 2025 in Błohoriwka in the Donetsk region and Zhang Renbo, born in 1998, captured on April 5, 2025 in the vicinity of the terrace also in the Donetsk region.

President Wołodymyr Zełenski said on Wednesday that Ukrainian intelligence has information about at least 155 Chinese soldiers who are fighting Russia against Ukraine. In his opinion, the authorities in Beijing know that Moscow is recruiting Chinese citizens to fight in Ukraine.

According to President Zelanski, Russia recruits China citizens through social media, and Chinese state officials are aware of this. Zelanski added that the Ukrainian intelligence is trying to determine whether Chinese recruits receive instructions from Beijing and whether the China authorities gave their citizens to fight to fight in Ukraine.

“We simply see, based on the data we have that China (…) knew about sending Chinese citizens to Ukraine. We do not claim that someone gave an order; we do not have such information,” said Zelnski.

“The Chinese issue is serious. We have passport data of these people, we know where they come from, we know their age, also places of service” – explained the Ukrainian president. He emphasized that he believes that Chinese citizens fighting on the side of Russia are “much, much more”.

Zelanski stated that the Russians disseminate advertising films about recruitment through Chinese social networks. “This is not a secret recruitment-it is important,” he said and explained that after recruitment, these people come to Moscow, where they undergo 3-4 days medical examinations, and then a 1-2-month stay in training centers.

“They fight on the territory of Ukraine. They get migration cards, as well as the MIR payment system card, to which they receive the right money,” said the President of Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Zelanski announced that the army of Ukraine captured two China citizens who fought on the Russian side in the Donetsk region. He added that there is information that there are more Citizens of the PRC in the Russian army units.

A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jian announced on Wednesday that Beijing verifies reports of Chinese soldiers in Ukraine in cooperation with the Ukrainian side. He assured that his country's authorities have nothing to do with the presence of the Chinese in Ukraine.

“I would like to emphasize that the Chinese government always asks China citizens to stay away from the areas of armed conflicts, avoid all forms of involvement in (actions) armed, and in particular avoid participation in military operations of any of the (fighting) pages,” said Lin.

The communist authorities in Beijing declare a neutral attitude towards the full -scale war against Russia in 2022; They call the invasion a “crisis in Ukraine.” At the same time, they did not condemn aggression and oppose the sanctions imposed on the Western countries. China ensures that they do not provide weapons of any of the fighting sides. (PAP)

ZM/ Mal/