Main image: Zhang Renbo and Wan Guangxun at a press conference on April 14. Photo by Ukrainian Truth.
Wang Guangjun (王广军), 1991) and Zhang Renbo (张仁波), 1998), Chinese citizens captured by Ukrainian forces on April 4th and 5th, stated that they did not want to fight in the Russian army but were deceived and sent to the front. The prisoners shared this during a press conference organized by the Security Service of Ukraine, emphasizing that they had no ties to official Beijing.
According to Guangjun, he was looking for work after allegedly losing his previous job during the COVID-19 pandemic. He made an arrangement with a Russian recruiter to work as a rehabilitation therapist for injured soldiers, but upon arriving in Russia, he "ended up in the army and had no choice." Three days after arriving at the front line, he was sent into combat. He mentioned that in China, especially on TikTok, the image of a soldier is romanticized, and many men aspire to join the war.
He also said that communication with recruiters was done through gestures and signs, and the detailed terms of the contract and payments were never disclosed. Allegedly, documents in Chinese were not provided either. In the end, Guangjun urged his fellow countrymen not to trust the Russians and added that Russia "is not as strong as it seems," while Ukraine is not as weak as it appears.
Renbo shared that he initially arrived in Russia as a tourist but then decided to "earn a little money," although he had previously worked as a firefighter and was financially well-off. He claims that in Russia, he was offered a job as a "builder," but then "something else started," and he "could do nothing about it."
"Before arriving in Ukraine, all the information I received about this country was about Russia’s victories — Russia captured this, that..." said the captured Chinese citizen.
He was promised a salary of 80,000 to 260,000 rubles. However, after receiving a card with 200,000 rubles, the Russian soldiers immediately took Renbo’s phone with a banking app and kept the money for themselves. They also threatened him.
Both prisoners stated that they did not kill any Ukrainian soldiers, as their time on the front line was brief. They suspect that the unit they were part of was the 7th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces. Both Guangjun and Renbo expressed a desire to return to their homeland through a prisoner exchange.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the Russian Federation has recruited at least 155 Chinese citizens into its armed forces. Kyiv has data on each of them, he clarified. According to him, upon arriving in Moscow, the recruited Chinese undergo a medical examination for three to four days, receive migration cards and Mir bank cards, and are then sent to training centers for one to two months.
Kyiv is ready to exchange the captured Chinese citizens for Ukrainian soldiers held in Russian captivity, the president emphasized. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies that its citizens are participating in the war on the side of the Russian Federation.
