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Two Chinese soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces in the east of the country. Captives of kyiv, they spoke this Monday, April 14, to negotiate exchanges of prisoners with Russia.
On Tuesday April 8, Volodymyr Zelensky announced the capture of two Chinese nationals who were fighting in the Russian army in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian president urged Westerners to “react” and ask for explanations from China. This is the first time that Ukraine has claimed to have discovered Chinese participating in hostilities on his soil since the start of the Russian invasion three years ago.
These two nationals spoke at a press conference on Monday 14 on Ukrainian television. Menottés and coated with military equipment, they told their story. Impossible to know if the prisoners agreed to speak under the constraint or not.
“I hope China will be able to exchange me with Russia and Ukraine and bring me back to China,” said one of them, 26 years old. “Do not participate in this war,” said the other 33 -year -old soldier. They said they joined the Russian army thanks to “recruitment announcements on certain Chinese applications” and refute any connection to the Chinese government. “This type of assertion is completely baseless. The position of China on the Ukrainian crisis is clear and unambiguously, and has been widely recognized by the international community,” said Beijing in the aftermath of the arrests.
“Currently, we know that at least several hundred Chinese nationals are fighting in Russian occupation forces,” said Volodymyr Zelensky, calling for mobilization on the file of the international community.
