Chinese citizens who fought on the side of russia and were taken prisoner in the east of Ukraine said they went to war voluntarily, not on orders from Beijing.
They stated this at a press conference, Ukrinform reports.
One of the prisoners, Wang Guangjun, claims that he was left unemployed during the pandemic. While looking for a part-time job, he came across a TikTok video advertising service in the russian army.
The man claims that being a soldier in China is prestigious. At the same time, the Chinese government has warned against going to war.
Wang Guangjun added that in China, the war in Ukraine is usually told from the perspective of the successes of the russian federation.
Another Chinese man who was also captured, Zhang Renbo, assured that neither he nor his compatriot had received orders from the Chinese government to sign a contract with the russian army.
The man said that he came from a wealthy family and worked as a firefighter and rescue worker. He did not plan to go to war. He went to russia to travel. He was persuaded to sign a contract with the russian ministry of defense.
After signing the contract, both men were taken away from their mobile phones and the money they received from the russian federation. The russians used this money to buy fuel for their equipment and power banks. Also, in the russian army, commanders did not know Chinese, so they communicated with them using gestures.
Commenting on their captivity, the Chinese said that they were treated well and were even fed food from McDonald's.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on April 8, it became known that in the Donetsk Region, Ukrainian military captured two Chinese citizens who fought in the russian army.
Recall, on April 9, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy published a video of the interrogation of the Chinese.
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