Zelenskyj: 155 Chinese citizens fight for Russia

It was on Tuesday that President Zelenskyj stated that Ukraine had captured two Chinese who fought on Russia’s side in Donetsk, information that was also confirmed from the US. According to Ukrainian intelligence service, there is information on at least 155 Chinese citizens « in the attacker’s association ».

China has denied that they would have sent soldiers to the war and urged Chinese citizens to « avoid involvement in hostilities ». The Kremlin has so far declined to comment on the information, writes Reuters news agency.

Military analyst Jörgen Elfving says that an important issue in this context is how the Chinese ended up in the Russian bandages.

– It doesn’t have to be that there are conscious recruitment attempts by Chinese. Since it is a fairly small number, it may as well be people who have taken to Russia to apply for a job but have not found anything, and therefore let themselves be employed, he says and continues:

– The interesting thing is to see what the Russian comments will be. How to characterize these Chinese and what they have done in their military career.

President Zelenskyj claims in a statement on Wednesday that the Chinese have been recruited by Russia via social media, and that Chinese authorities are aware of it.

– I do not rule out that the Chinese authorities are aware that you have citizens fighting in Russia. But I do not believe that it is officially sanctioned or that China deliberately sends military personnel to the war in Ukraine, says Jörgen Elfving.

Why do you think Ukraine is coming with this information right now?

– To be able to draw parallels to the North Korean involvement. It is possible that you want to give the appearance that it is done in orderly forms from the Chinese side, that another nation has mixed in.

On a movie like it Ukrainian president published is what is said to be one of the captured Chinese soldiers. Wearing military uniform and with handcuffs, the man on the film tries to communicate with people behind the camera.

According to Zelenskyj, the presence of the Chinese soldiers shows that the President of Russia has no intentions to end the war.

« He is trying to find ways to continue fighting, » the president wrote on Tuesday.