Identities of Two Captured Chinese Soldiers Revealed, They Claim "Ukrainian Soldiers Saved Me"

Chinese paramilitary police stand guard at Tiananmen Square. (China Photos/Getty Images)

[People News] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Wednesday (April 9) that intelligence reports indicate around 155 Chinese (People's Republic of China) citizens are fighting for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. He also shared a video on the social media platform 'X' featuring two captured Chinese (People's Republic of China) soldiers undergoing interrogation.

According to Radio Free Asia, the approximately 5-minute video shows one soldier, identified by his passport as 'Zhang Renbo' (Zhang Renbo), from Jiangxi, China, born in July 1998, making him 26 years old. He responded to questions from Ukrainian intelligence officials in Mandarin, stressing that it was his first mission and his first experience in combat when he was captured. He was assigned an AK-74 assault rifle and was on a mission with a Russian soldier, but he stated that he 'did not fire a single shot from beginning to end.'

"I felt like I was suffocating"

The other captured soldier identified himself as 'Wang Guangju' (Wang Guangju, transliteration), from Zhengzhou, Henan, China, currently 34 years old. He explained that the temporary squad initially included 3 Chinese (People's Republic of China) soldiers and two Russians, but they later became separated and encountered two Russian men from another squad in the wilderness, saying, 'and then I don't know what happened next.'

Wang Guangjun stated that he was unsure if his teammates had perished and revealed that a Ukrainian soldier saved his life. He recounted, "The Russians threw tear gas into the bunker, and the smoke was thick, choking, and suffocating! I didn’t know how to escape; I just stood there foolishly, feeling like I was about to die from suffocation. The Ukrainian soldier had already run out and then came back down, grabbing me by the collar and pulling me up, but by that time, I had already lost consciousness." 

Earlier, The Kyiv Independent cited sources reporting that one of the captured Chinese soldiers claimed to have paid an intermediary 300,000 rubles (approximately 27,000 Hong Kong dollars) to join the Russian army and obtain Russian citizenship. He also indicated that some Chinese individuals had enlisted in the Russian military due to legal troubles. 

China has Dismissed these Accusations as Unfounded 

According to a report by Reuters, President Zelensky stated that Russia is recruiting Chinese citizens via social media, and that officials from the Chinese Communist Party are aware of this situation. Ukraine is currently assessing whether these recruitment efforts are being directed by the Beijing authorities.