Kiyv, Apr 9 (EFE) – The Chinese citizens captured by the Ukrainian army this week while fighting in the Donetsk region joined the Russian armed forces on their own and not as part of a military deployment by Beijing, according to the Chinese government and information provided by one of the captives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Ukrainian intelligence estimates cited Wednesday by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at least 155 Chinese citizens are fighting with Russian forces in Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelenskyy said that some of these soldiers are recruited with videos with advertisements posted by Russia on TikTok and other Chinese social networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ukrainian president was convinced that the Chinese government knows about this form of recruitment, and he did not rule out that Russia attracts Chinese citizens to its army also with secret methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Wednesday denied that there are Chinese citizens participating in an organized war effort in Ukraine alongside Russian troops, reiterating China’s stance of neutrality and its commitment to a political solution to the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“China\u2019s position on the issue of the Ukraine crisis is very clear and is widely recognized by the international community,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian when asked about the alleged capture of two Chinese citizens on the Donbas front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The spokesman assured that Beijing was “verifying the information with the Ukrainian side,” stating that the government \u201casks Chinese nationals to stay away from areas of armed conflict, avoid any form of involvement in armed conflict, and in particular avoid participation in any party\u2019s military operations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The response comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday denounced the capture of two Chinese citizens fighting in Russian ranks and said Kyiv had indications that there could be “many more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going to war for Russian citizenship <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the two captured Chinese citizens told Ukrainian authorities that he paid 30,000 rubles (about $350) to an intermediary in China to enlist in the Russian army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that his motivation was to become an officer in the Russian Armed Forces and obtain Russian citizenship, Ukrainian military sources told Ukrainska Pravda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chinese POW said under interrogation that he left his country as a tourist and that some of the compatriots he met in the Russian army had legal problems in their home country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chinese national further explained that they received training in the Russian-occupied Lugansk region of Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chinese communicated with their Russian instructors using gestures and a translator over the phone in the absence of an interpreter, according to the POW’s testimony, which was provided to the Ukrainian press by military sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US denounces Chinese aid to Russia <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States has expressed concern over the capture of the first Chinese soldiers in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a press conference that \u201cChina is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine,\u201d providing \u201cnearly 80% of dual-use items Russia needs to sustain the war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Tuesday the capture in combat of two Chinese nationals who had enlisted in the Russian army. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two POWs, according to the Ukrainian president, were part of a group of six Chinese with whom Ukrainian troops fought in the eastern Donetsk region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelenyi warned of the seriousness of this precedent, recalling that more than ten thousand North Korean soldiers have joined the Russian troops fighting the Ukrainian army. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also asked the United States and Europe to take measures against the escalation that could involve the participation of Chinese soldiers in Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. EFE <\/p>\n\n\n\n
mg-gbm-er\/mcd<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"