The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out the first interrogation of two Chinese nationals captured while fighting for Russia in Ukraine, the SBU said on April 9.
Kyiv announced the capture of the two Chinese fighters fighting on Ukrainian territory on April 8. According to an intelligence document seen by the Kyiv Independent, at least 163 Chinese nationals are serving in Russia's Armed Forces.
One of the captives served in the 2nd Battalion of Russia's 157th Motorized Rifle Brigade and was captured near Tarasivka, while the other fought in the 1st Battalion of the 81st Motorized Rifle Brigade and was captured near Bilohorivka, according to the SBU.
The prisoners of war (POWs) have no combat wounds but are receiving all necessary medical care and are being held in appropriate conditions in accordance with international law, the SBU said. Both of them claim to have been captured during their first combat mission.
The captives include an unemployed man born in 1991 who was recruited by a Russian middleman in China and arrived in Moscow to sign a military contract in February 2025, according to the SBU's statement.
In an interrogation video released by President Volodymyr Zelensky, the captive introduced himself with the help of an interpreter as 34-year-old Wang Guangjun from Zhengzhou, Henan Province.
Wang said he surrendered in a group of three, including a stray Russian soldier. After they had surrendered, Russian forces dropped an explosive with gas on the group, nearly killing the Chinese fighter before a Ukrainian soldier dragged him out of the shelter and saved his life, he claimed.
The other man, born in 1998, arrived in Russia in December 2024, supposedly as a tourist. According to the SBU, he then applied for a military contract after seeing an online ad with a promised payment of 2 million rubles ($23,300).
The second man introduced himself in the interrogation video as Zhang Renbo from Jiangxi Province. He claimed to have never taken part in combat before his first mission and capture.
"It was my first deployment, my first combat mission," Zhang says through an interpreter.
"Prior to that, I had never participated in combat operations, and before I got there, I had never held a weapon."
Following the capture, Zelensky instructed Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to contact Beijing. Ukraine summoned China's chargé d'affaires to demand an official explanation and express condemnation.
Beijing responded by saying it was "verifying" the claims, reiterating that Chinese citizens are prohibited from participating in foreign armed conflicts.
"Russia doesn't care who dies in this insane war, they only need the war to continue," Zelensky said on X.
"We all need—all partners, all fair-minded participants in international relations—to deprive Russia of the ability to continue the war, including through the use of people like these."
China, which portrays itself as a neutral party in the war, has become the Kremlin's largest supplier of dual-use goods essential for weapons manufacturing.
Unlike North Korean troops, who have fought on Russian soil, the Chinese nationals were captured on Ukrainian territory, marking a potential escalation in foreign involvement.
North Korea sent around 12,000 troops to Russia's Kursk Oblast in 2024 to reinforce Russian lines after a Ukrainian cross-border offensive. Kyiv has said it captured two North Korean soldiers in January, estimating 4,000 casualties among the deployed units.
Kateryna Denisova
(Updated: )
