Citizens of China, captured by the Ukrainian military, claim, who did not intend to participate in hostilities against Ukraine, but the Russian side forcibly sent them to the front.
According to the prisoners of war themselves, both signed a contract with the Russian army without having any combat experience. One of them explained that he planned to do “medical rehabilitation”, but after arriving in Russia he was immediately sent to the front line. Another said that he did not want to participate in the war at all, but he was forced.
“I had a normal job in China, a family, a wife, parents. Because I lost my job during COVID, I decided to find this part-time job.” Wang Guangjun explained.
In turn, Zhang Renbo emphasized that he had no financial problems:
“We had no problems, there was enough money from above. I first went to Russia to travel, and then I decided to earn money. But I did not expect that I would end up in the war.”, – he added.
Zhang clarified that he arrived in Moscow on December 20, 2024 and stayed there for a week. On December 28, he reached Rostov, where he stayed for another six days. From there, he, along with others, was sent to temporarily occupied Donetsk. There, they were in contact with foreign mercenaries who also fought for Russia for about a month, after which they were transferred to the front line.
The command of the unit was carried out by a Russian who communicated with the Chinese with gestures, without an interpreter, although one of the captives had 10 Chinese citizens in the unit, and two in the other.
The Chinese said they were used for heavy work. They did not have time to take part in hostilities: one was wounded, the other surrendered. Both have expressed a desire to be traded. It is noted that Chinese citizens usually use the services of intermediaries, mostly foreigners, to join the Russian armed forces.
We will remind that on April 8, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the Armed Forces of Ukraine captured two citizens of the People’s Republic of China who fought on the side of the Russian Federation.
