Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is aware of at least 155 Chinese nationals fighting for Russia and accused Beijing of turning a blind eye to their recruitment and allowing them to participate in the invasion of his country.
Officials released two dossiers naming, and in some cases picturing, Chinese men who were said to have signed up, though Ukraine did not suggest this meant Beijing was seeking to enter the war alongside Russia.
The president told reporters in a briefing that he was not aware that China “gave some kind of command” to those now fighting for Russia. Still, he did say Beijing must have been aware some people were joining another country’s military in return for payment.
“We record that they [China] knew about it,” Zelenskyy said. “We record that these are Chinese citizens, they are fighting against us, using weapons against Ukrainians on the territory of Ukraine. Their motivation, money or not, politics, etcetera, is not yet known to me. But it will be known.”
Zelenskyy said he believed the US was “very surprised and believes that this is unacceptable” at a time when Washington and Beijing have become embroiled in a tariff trade war.
Compiled by Ukrainian intelligence, one of the documents pictured 13 Chinese soldiers aged between 19 and 45, with their passport details; while the second document listed names, dates of birth, their Russian unit and in some cases information about where they had been recruited.
“The ‘Chinese’ issue is serious. There are 155 people with names and passport details – 155 Chinese citizens who are fighting against Ukrainians on the territory of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said, adding: “We believe that there are more, much more.”
Comments from Chinese officials earlier on Wednesday suggested people were joining up on their own initiative, though officials in Beijing added the idea that significant numbers were involved in the war was “totally unfounded.”
Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said: “The Chinese government always asks Chinese citizens to stay away from conflict zones, avoid getting involved in any form of armed conflict, and especially refrain from participating in any party’s military operations.”
China says it is a neutral party in the conflict, though Russia makes heavy use of Chinese-made components in its arms industry, as does Ukraine. Both sides deploy Mavic drones from the Chinese manufacturer DJI, though Kyiv is trying to reduce its dependence on kit from Beijing.
Russia was seeking to recruit Chinese fighters by openly advertising on TikTok and other Chinese social networks, Zelenskyy said, arguing that “Beijing is aware of this”. They then travelled to Russia, typically Moscow, where they were first given medical examination over a three- to four-day period, he added.
The recruits are then given one or two months of training and asked to fight on occupied Ukrainian territory. They received official migration cards from the Russian authorities and were given access to an official payment system to receive money, Zelenskyy said.
Kyiv also named the two Chinese prisoners that previously had been announced as being captured on the battlefield on Tuesday as Wang Guangjun, born in 1991, and Zhang Renbo, born in 1998, and said it would be willing to exchange them for Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia.
Ukraine’s relationship with the US had become fraught as Donald Trump tries to persuade Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a ceasefire to halt their three-year war, but Zelenskyy may be hoping that the US president’s antipathy to China will improve his negotiating position.
