The two Chinese nationals captured by Ukraine while they were fighting in the Russian army appeared on Monday during a press conference in kyiv, ensuring that they want to be exchanged and calling their fellow citizens not to follow their example.
Dressed in military trellis and handcuffs on the wrists, the two men told Mandarin that they were captured during fights in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine, after joining the ranks of the Russian army thanks to online announcements. “I hope that China will be able to exchange me with Russia and Ukraine and bring me back to China,” said one of them, identified as Zhang Renbo, 26.
The other, identified as Wang Guangjun, 33, called his “compatriots who want to participate in the war in Ukraine” not to do so. “Do not participate in this war,” he said. He said he was enlisted in the Russian army via “recruitment announcements on certain Chinese applications such as Kuaishou and Douyin”. The two men denied having any link with the Chinese government.
