Ukraine counts more than 150 Chinese citizens fighting for Russia

China has denied military involvement in Ukraine after Kyiv said it captured two Chinese citizens.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian denied Ukraine’s claim that there are additional Chinese fighters in the conflict. Picture: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China

More than 150 Chinese citizens have joined the Russian military to fight against Ukraine, according to Ukrainian intelligence reports viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The reports indicate a deeper Chinese involvement in the war than previously known, although a Western official said the men were most likely mercenaries.

China on Wednesday denied any military involvement in Ukraine, after Kyiv said it had captured two Chinese men in the country’s east.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Wednesday said China was still trying to confirm with Ukraine details of the capture of the two Chinese citizens who Ukrainian authorities said were fighting for the Russian military.

“China is verifying information with the Ukrainian side,” Lin said. “Let me stress that the Chinese government always asks its nationals to stay away from areas of armed conflict, avoid any form of involvement in armed conflict and in particular avoid participation in any party’s military operations.”

Our military has captured two Chinese citizens who were fighting as part of the Russian army. This happened on Ukrainian territory—in the Donetsk region. Identification documents, bank cards, and personal data were found in their possession.

We have information suggesting that… pic.twitter.com/ekBr6hCkQL

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 8, 2025

The Ukrainian intelligence reports indicate otherwise. One of them shows photographs and passports of 13 Chinese citizens apparently recruited to a unit of the Russian army. A second lists 168 names along with birth dates, the dates they signed contracts and the names of the units they are assigned to. Many of the men are listed as riflemen, although a handful are described as strike-drone operators, indicating that they have learned some of the critical new skills needed on the modern battlefield.

The capture of the Chinese citizens in eastern Ukraine added a fresh international twist to the three-year war in Ukraine.

The West, led by the US, has supported Ukraine with weapons and financial aid, while Russia has received military supplies from Iran and North Korea. Last fall, North Korea dispatched around 12,000 troops to fight in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces had seized territory, according to Ukrainian and Western officials.

China has professed itself neutral but supported Russia economically while stopping short of providing military equipment or troops.

A Western official said the captured men were likely mercenaries, among hundreds of foreign men of a variety of nationalities who have joined Russia’s army for money.

“We are not seeing evidence of state sponsorship here,” the official said.

A Ukrainian military spokesman said one Chinese captive had recounted that he paid an intermediary in China the equivalent of around $3,500 to join the Russian army in return for a promise of Russian citizenship. The spokesman said the man had undergone training in occupied eastern Ukraine as part of a group formed of Chinese citizens, and had surrendered during an assault after his group suffered losses.

US officials have accused China of prolonging the war by supporting Moscow, enabling it to keep fighting and resist international pressure for a cease-fire. Moscow owes much of its economic resilience to its oil exports to Beijing, and China is a key source of drone engines and other materials that enable Russia’s weapons production.

“It’s one more country that is militarily supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Zelensky said Tuesday.

Ukrainian servicemen fire a mobile MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) at an undisclosed location on the front line in Zaporizhzhia region. Picture: Ukrainian Armed Forces / AFP

“I understand that we are a strong country, but we can’t fight simultaneously with many countries that want something on our land,” he said, according to state news agency Ukrinform.

The US State Department called the development disturbing.

“China is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Tuesday. “As President Trump has said, continued cooperation between these two nuclear powers will only further contribute to global instability and make the United States and other countries less safe, less secure, and less prosperous.”

Wall Street Journal