By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

On April 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the capture of two Chinese citizens fighting with the Russian army in Donetsk. The following day, Zelenskyy claimed that Ukraine had “precise data” on more than 150 Chinese citizens involved in the war on behalf of Russia.

While foreigners are not new to the battlefields of eastern Ukraine – from Central Asians recruited or coerced into the war effort to South Asians who joined as mercenaries to North Koreans dispatched by Pyongyang – if true, the Ukrainian claim marks yet another widening of the war.

The allegation that Chinese nationals are fighting on Russia’s behalf also undercuts Beijing’s long-held public neutrality, a careful balancing between Moscow and the West. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, China has consistently claimed to be neutral, supporting only the cause of peace. However, Beijing has persistently refused to condemn Russia (or even refer to the conflict as a war), and Chinese officials often repeat Russian talking points about NATO expansion and the West’s “Cold War mentality” as the immediate cause of the invasion. The U.S and European officials have also repeatedly alleged that China is supplying Russia with dual-use materials vital to its war effort, though Beijing has vociferously denied such claims.

In his first X post, Zelenskyy shared video of one of the captured men handcuffed and describing a recent battle in Mandarin. “Identification documents, bank cards, and personal data were found in their possession,” he wrote. “Russia’s involvement of China, along with other countries, whether directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin intends to do anything but end the war.”

In subsequent posts, Zelenskyy shared additional videos of the captured men talking in Mandarin and confirming that they were commanded by and fought alongside Russians. Zelenskyy said that “As of now, we have precise data on over 150 Chinese citizens who were involved in the war against Ukraine by Russia. We know that the actual number is higher."

A soldier at an undisclosed location in Ukraine following his capture by the Ukrainian army

He went on to state, “Ukraine believes that such blatant involvement of Chinese citizens in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine during the war of aggression is a deliberate step towards the expansion of the war, and is yet another indication that Moscow simply needs to drag out the fighting.”

In his most recent post, the Ukrainian president said, “We continue to investigate all the circumstances surrounding the involvement of Chinese citizens in the Russian occupation forces… It is crystal clear that these are not isolated cases, but rather systematic Russian efforts, in particular on the territory and within the jurisdiction of China, to recruit citizens of that country for the war.”

Russian authorities have declined to comment on the allegation. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian answered media questions on both April 9 and 10 during the Foreign Ministry’s regularly schedule briefing.

On April 9, Lin said China was working to verify the Ukrainian claim. He added: “Let me stress that the Chinese government always asks Chinese nationals to stay away from areas of armed conflict, avoid any form of involvement in armed conflict, and in particular avoid participation in any party’s military operations.”

While he did not specifically deny the nationality of the two captured men, Lin did strongly rebut the assertion that there is a large number of Chinese nationals fighting on Russia’s behalf, saying, “Such claim has no basis in facts.”

On April 10, after news broke of Ukraine’s claim of having information on 155 Chinese engaged in the war, a journalist from the AFP asked if China thinks that Zelenskyy “is somehow lying or mistaken?”

Lin replied, “Let me reaffirm that China did not start the Ukraine crisis, nor is China a party to it. We firmly support and actively strive for peaceful settlement of the crisis.”

There have been occasional rumors of Chinese nationals fighting for Russia, but mostly these claims have been received with skepticism within China. A previous video posted by a Ukrainian analyst and former government official, which purported to show two Chinese nationals deployed with the Russian military, was widely dismissed by Chinese social media users. As Manya Koetse noted for What’s on Weibo, many questioned whether the men in the video were actually Chinese, or if they were even deployed to the front; it was suggested they were Koreans or Chinese “cosplaying” from the safety of Chinese soil. And even if the men were Chinese nationals, the consensus on social media was that they were individual actors.

Koetse quoted Ma Shang Tan, a blogger with nearly half a million followers, making that argument: “Just because they write Chinese [characters] doesn’t mean they represent the Chinese people… Russia is offering high pay to recruit mercenaries, attracting people from all over the world who are willing to risk their lives for money.”

It’s possible that there are Chinese nationals fighting on Russia’s behalf but that this is the result of choices by individual Chinese, just as citizens from Uzbekistan, India, Nepal, and elsewhere have wound up fighting in Ukraine despite their governments’ objections.

In comments to the media, Zelenskyy outlined the method Russia has used to recruit Chinese people, emphasizing the role of social media.

“One of the schemes is through social networks, in particular TikTok and other Chinese social networks, where Russians distribute advertising videos. Official Beijing knows about this. Russians distribute advertising videos about recruitment through Chinese social networks,” he said. 

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported additional details about the capture of the two men. The documents shared indicate their names are Zhang Renbo and Wang Guangjun. Zhang reportedly told the SBU during an interrogation that he traveled to Russia in December 2024 as a tourist and responded to an online military recruitment ad promising a payment of 2 million rubles (over $23,000). He paid a middleman in China 300,000 rubles to get him to Luhansk, where he underwent military training alongside other Chinese. He reportedly wanted to obtain Russian citizenship. Wang reportedly said he’d been recruited by Russian representatives in China and traveled to Moscow in February 2025 to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry.

This very much mirrors incidents of Central Asian migrant workers being recruited, or otherwise enticed, into joining the Russian war effort with promises of big salaries and citizenship.

 

 

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