At least 155 Chinese citizens are fighting for Russia, some recruited via TikTok, Zelensky says

The Ukrainian authorities have identified at least 155 Chinese nationals fighting for Russia in the war, President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters.

“The ‘China question’ is a serious one,” Zelensky said, as quoted by the news agency UNIAN. “We have the names and passport details of 155 Chinese citizens fighting against Ukrainians on our soil. We believe there are many more.”

According to Zelensky, Ukraine has information on how Russia is recruiting Chinese nationals, including through social media platforms such as TikTok and other Chinese networks, where recruitment videos are being circulated.

“Beijing is aware of this,” he said. “The videos are openly distributed by Russians through Chinese social media. It’s not covert recruitment — and that matters. Though perhaps there are secret efforts as well,” he added.

Once recruited, Zelensky said, the Chinese nationals travel to Moscow, undergo medical examinations over several days, and are then sent to training centers for one to two months.

“They are fighting on Ukrainian territory,” he said. “They receive migration cards and Mir payment cards, where their salaries are deposited.”

On April 8, Zelensky announced that Ukrainian forces had captured two Chinese nationals who had been fighting with Russian troops in the Donetsk region. China’s Foreign Ministry later said it has consistently urged its citizens to “stay away” from armed conflicts.

The following day, Ukraine’s Luhansk Operational Tactical Group reported that one of the detainees said he had paid 300,000 rubles ($3,500) to a middleman to join the Russian military. The man had hoped, the group said, to become a soldier and obtain Russian citizenship.