At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, in order to avoid the need to re -mobilize, the Russian authorities tried to recruit mercenaries to the front in poorer countries. Inhabitants of Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and Cuba were often persuaded to go to Russia promises of peaceful work, high earnings and citizenship. Now it was the turn of the inhabitants of the country, whose leader promised Vladimir Putin “Unlimited Partnership”.
There are videos in Chinese social media: some of them are cleverly crafted Russian propaganda about how to be a tough guy, others are rather stories of bloggers about the possibilities of making money and resting opportunities. Still others are simply screenshots of ordinary people leaving China. They all have one common feature: They talk about the benefits of being a mercenary in Russiaaccording to the British newspaper “The Guardian”, which examined how the Chinese are lunked to fight against Ukraine.
“Do you want to show your strength?”
This week, President Vladimir Zełenski announced for the first time that The Ukrainian army captured two Chinese who fought on the side of Russia. Then he said that Moscow recruited at least 155 Chinese citizens for war through Tiktok and that Beijing is aware of this. In response, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeated the authority of the authorities in a peaceful solution to the situation in Ukraine, adding that “the relevant parties should avoid irresponsible statements.”
Meanwhile, in Chinese social media you can find Many movies about recruitment for “Work” in Russiaas “The Guardian” writes. They all emphasize that earnings will range from 60 to 200 thousand. Juan (approx. PLN 30-100 thousand) as an initial payment and about 18 thousand Juan (approx. PLN 9,000) per month. These amounts are comparable to the payments offered by Russian recruits: 2.3 million rubles when signing documents and from 210 thousand. rubles per month (approx. 104 and 9.5 thousand zlotys, respectively) depending on the rank and position. In Russia, local authorities can also add regional bonuses.
One of the films that accumulated hundreds of thousands of views on different platforms looks like Russian advertising of services with the Chinese inscriptions imposed. He shows white men abandoning their ordinary work to fight, and asks the viewers: “Do you want to show your strength? Is this the path you are looking for? You are a tough guy, be like them!”
In another popular film, recruited Chinese says that he will go to war with Ukraine after the new year and shows screenshots with information on how to enlist. In another film, the Russian returns to over 300,000. people watching her in Chinese Mandarin, advertising the financial benefits resulting from service in the Russian army.
In the comments, many people wrote that recruited people would simply become “cannon meat”, but there were also many posts about how The proposed payments exceed earnings in Chinanotes “The Guardian”.
Passports of Chinese soldiers captured in Ukraine
Over the past few weeks, the Chinese journalist and writer Chai Jing has conducted Interviews with compatriots who fought on both Russia and Ukraine. Chai and Russian mercenary noticed that much less Chinese are fighting on the side of Ukraine; Perhaps because – as the journalist's interlocutor suggested, a former member of the “Assault Group” in Bachmut – it is easier to get a visa to Russia, as well as because of the belief that Russia is a friend and ally of China.
