The two Chinese soldiers captured by Kyiv troops for fighting alongside Moscow forces said they were lured into fighting despite knowing full well that they were signing up with the Russian military.
The two made the comments during Monday’s press conference hosted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), where part of their revelations were covered in an earlier Kyiv Post report.
“Every man in China has a dream of becoming a soldier”
‘Dream of becoming a soldier’
Wang Guangjun, one of the soldiers captured by Kyiv troops, said he worked as a therapist in China but was tempted to join the Russian military due to unemployment and promotional videos on social media.
When asked about the recruitments in China, Wang said they were done via “attractive” promotional videos on Douyin – Chinese equivalent of TikTok – depicting soldiers with weapons and guns.
“They won’t reach out to us directly, but they will reach out to us via many different ways, like headhunters, especially foreigners,” Wang explained.
He added that the idea of becoming a soldier tempted him to sign up with Moscow’s forces.
“Because in China, Chinese soldiers have a high social status, especially in most people’s eyes. Therefore every man in China has a dream of becoming a soldier. When there was no way of becoming a soldier in China, you would be tempted [by those videos],” he said.
“I was one of those.”
Kyiv Post previously reported Chinese Douyin users’ reactions to the two’s capture, including comments from another Chinese national serving in the Russian military.
“Because of this trust, we were exploited.”
Zhang Renbo, another captured fighter who was recruited in Russia, said he worked as a firefighter in China but was prompted to join due to financial issues while traveling in Russia.
“As to why I was involved in this war, I initially went to Russia as a tourist. I was on vacation at the time. After arriving in Russia, I originally planned to go eat, have fun for half a month, but perhaps because of my personal greed, because of money… but I did not know I was going to the army,” Zhang said.
Zhang also blamed the intermediaries for exploiting Chinese people’s trust in Russia, highlighting the influence of Russian propaganda in China.
“Internationally, it is said that China and Russia are friends, therefore Chinese people see Russia… first of all, we trust them. Because of this trust, we were exploited,” Zhang said.
“Before I joined this war, all I received were war updates from Russia. Namely the territories that Russia liberated [sic] every day…,” he added.
“At the time he proposed to me construction jobs, physical work, and earn more money than in China.”
False promises by intermediaries
Both said the intermediaries misled them by giving them false promises.
Wang, who was recruited in China, said he was promised a job as a therapist in the Russian military as he was told that the position was in high demand because of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The position he gave me was a therapist at the hospital, promising me I wouldn’t be participating in any fighting. [Even] after I met him in Moscow, he assured me of that,” he said.
“After signing up at the recruitment office, I couldn’t do anything anymore. I couldn’t make decisions anymore,” he added, answering a reporter’s question on why he decided to take up arms.
Zhang said he was promised a construction job and that he had a good-paying job back home, rejecting notions that he joined the Russian military in order to make more money.
“My income – for instance, if we are to compare it to the pay from the front line, even though they might not be as high, but it is already above 90% compared to others in China,” Zhang said, blaming intermediaries for exploiting Chinese people’s trust and luring them to join the fight.
“[The intermediary] also exaggerated. At the time he proposed to me construction jobs, physical work, and earn more money than in China, because Russia was focusing on construction at the time,” he said, adding that he fell into a “trap” as a result.
Signing up in Russia
Both fighters signed up for military service after they arrived in Russia, albeit through different paths.
Wang said the intermediary purchased tickets for him, where he first went to Urumqi in western China bordering the Central Asian nations before making his way to Almaty in Kazakhstan, then eventually Moscow.
“I departed on Feb. 5, [then] arrived in Moscow on Feb. 8. In Moscow, [the intermediary] brought me around for a few days of partying… initially I was supposed to sign up at recruitment office in Moscow, but somehow he brought me to Kazan,” Wang said.
According to a BBC report in January, Russia offers a 1,900,000 ruble ($22,890) one-time signing bonus in the Moscow region and 1,500,000 rubles ($18,071) in the Tatarstan Republic, where Kazan is located. Russia’s Samara region issued a record payout of 4,000,000 rubles ($40,000 at the time) one-time signup bonus for a month at the beginning of this year.
Wang said he signed up on Feb. 25 in Kazan and entered a local training camp, learning battlefield basics for five days before being sent to Rostov for another six days of training.
Zhang recalled the timeline and said he signed up earlier.
Zhang said he arrived in Moscow on Dec. 20, 2024. After roughly a week in Moscow, he was brought to Rostov on Dec. 28.
He said he signed the contract on Jan. 5 and was brought to a training camp in Rostov a day later.
“At the training camp, we trained… more precisely, [we were] being trained for six days. Then we waited for two days there,” Zhang said, adding that he was then sent to Ukraine’s Donetsk region before being sent to the front at the end of March.
The two were subsequently captured by Ukrainian troops near the villages of Bilohorivka and Tarasivka in the Donetsk region in early April.