"Lost my job during COVID": captured Chinese nationals explain how they ended up fighting against Ukraine

Wang Guangjun and Zhang Renbo, two Chinese citizens taken prisoner by Ukraine, claim they had not expected to end up in a war zone in Ukraine.

Source: Chinese prisoners of war at a press conference in Kyiv (via interpreter)

Details: Wang, speaking through an interpreter, said he had a job in China but "lost it during the COVID-19 pandemic and was looking for another option". At first, he negotiated with a Russian recruiter for a job as a rehabilitation therapist for wounded soldiers, but then, he says, "he ended up in the army and had no choice".

Wang arrived in Moscow on 5 February 2025, after which he received five days of training. He then waited in Rostov before being sent to the front. He reached a training area on 1 April and entered combat on 4 April.

Quote from Wang: "On Chinese social media, especially TikTok, there are videos showing people in uniform. In China, being in the military is prestigious, but not everyone can become a soldier. So people try to join combat operations elsewhere."

More details: Zhang said he came from a fairly well-off family in China and worked as a firefighter and rescuer. He initially travelled to Russia supposedly as a tourist, then decided to "earn a bit of money". At first, he says, Russians offered him construction work, but "then things changed, and at that point, you can’t do anything".

Zhang arrived in Moscow on 20 December 2024, then went to Rostov and then to Russian-occupied Donetsk. He said he spent about a month moving from trench to trench and communicating with Russian soldiers under constant shelling. He was captured on 5 April.

Quote from Zhang: "China promotes friendly relations with Russia. Perhaps it’s this kind of advertising campaign [on Chinese social media – ed.] that encourages people to join the war against Ukraine (...) Before I came to Ukraine, all the information [about Ukraine – ed.] I received was about Russia’s victories – that Russia had seized this or that."

Read more: Zelenskyy posts video of interrogation of Chinese POWs captured in Donetsk Oblast – photos

Background: 

• On 8 April, Zelenskyy reported that Ukrainian troops in Donetsk Oblast had captured two Chinese citizens who were fighting in the ranks of the Russian military. Zelenskyy also noted that he had instructed Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to urgently contact Beijing to determine how China intends to respond.
• The two citizens of the People's Republic of China were captured in Donetsk Oblast by soldiers from the 81st Separate Airborne Slobozhanska Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces and the 157th Separate Mechanised Brigade.
• Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine was ready to exchange captured Chinese citizens only for Ukrainian soldiers held in Russian captivity, and the signal was conveyed.
• On 11 April, Zelenskyy stated that "at least several hundred Chinese nationals are fighting as part of Russia’s occupation forces", which means that Russia is trying to prolong the war even at the expense of Chinese lives.

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