Beijing (AP) – China described Thursday as “irresponsible” accusations of the Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia actively recruits Chinese citizens to fight alongside its forces in the Ukraine war.
Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that more than 150 mercenaries of these are already active on the battlefield with the knowledge of Beijing. He spoke after the capture this week of two Chinese nationals who were fighting for Russia in eastern Ukraine.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lin Jian, has repeated China’s assertions that he supports and promotes peaceful settlement to the conflict and that the Chinese government “always asks Chinese nationals to stay far from the armed conflict zones, to avoid any form of involvement in armed conflicts, and in particular avoid participating in military operations.”
“We call on the relevant part to be correct and sober on the role of China and to refrain from making irresponsible remarks,” said Lin during a daily briefing in response to a question about Zelenskyy’s comments.
The two Chinese nationals captured were identified as Wang Guangjun, born in 1991 and Zhang Renbo, born in 1998.
China and Russia are close geostrategic partners. A few days before the complete invasion of Ukraine by Russia, three years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping signed a document declaring a “limitless friendship” between their nations, although China has since abandoned the sentence when the war clings.
China is not known for providing troops or armaments directly to Russia, but has provided solid diplomatic support and an economic rescue buoy thanks to the purchase of oil, gas and minerals and the vast majority of “double -use” goods such as engines with military and civil ends.
Despite Beijing’s refusals, Russia actively recruits Chinese citizens to fight alongside its forces in the war of Ukraine with more than 150 of these mercenaries already active in the battle with the knowledge of Beijing, Zelenskyy said on Wednesday.
Citing intelligence reports, Zelenskyy said Russia recruited Chinese citizens via social media by sharing news and videos to attract new mercenaries. Zelenskyy said Beijing was aware of the recruitment campaign.
“The Chinese problem is serious,” he said in a briefing with journalists. “There are 155 people with surnames, with data on passports, 155 Chinese citizens fighting against Ukrainians in the territory of Ukraine. We collect information; We think there are a lot more.
“The scheme of the way they recruit them is clear. One of the programs is through social networks, in particular Tik-Tok and other Chinese social networks, where the Russians distribute advertising videos,” he added, saying that “officially Beijing knows.
He said that it was “not a secret recruitment”, although parts of them could be secret.
The documents listing the names, passport numbers and personal details of the Chinese Chinese recruits of Ukrainian intelligence were shared with journalists. They are active in the 70th, 71st and 255th Russian motorized rifles, said Zelenskyy.
Some photos of known Chinese mercenaries have also been shared. The documents detailed when the recruits arrived in the Russian military training centers and when they left for military service.
The recruits went to Moscow and underwent medical examinations before 1 to 2 months of military training, then a deployment in Ukraine, said Zelenskyy.
The two parties used mercenaries and other foreign fighters in the war, including thousands of North Korean soldiers are fighting for Russia on Russian territory. Their efficiency has been negligible, but their presence indicates the generous salary that Russia offers as well as troubles that it has recruitment among the Russians, many of which have fled abroad to avoid conscription.
Zelenskyy said he was ready to exchange Chinese fighters for Ukrainian soldiers detained in captivity by Russia. The two men fought in different Russian military brigades and were captured in two different villages in the Donetsk region. Zelenskyy said the two were held by the Ukrainian security service in Kyiv.
“We believe that others are in eastern Ukraine, but in fact, we have to look. Here are two different villages, two different brigades. And the brigade, you know, has a fairly long section,” said Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president fell from Beijing’s accusation to have a manifest policy of deployment of mercenaries in Ukraine, saying that he was not yet sure of the intentions of China.
