Zelenskyy: We are ready to exchange Chinese nationals only for Ukrainian soldiers in Russian captivity
Ukraine is ready to exchange the captured Chinese nationals only for Ukrainian soldiers currently held in Russian captivity, and a corresponding signal has been sent.
Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with journalists; Interfax-Ukraine
Quote: "We thought that one of them wouldn't survive due to injuries. They underwent appropriate surgeries, and they are alive and currently in Ukraine. We would like to exchange them. We are ready to exchange them only for Ukrainian soldiers who are in Russian captivity. We have sent this signal."
Details: The captured Chinese citizens are Wang Guanzhun, 33, captured on 4 April 2025 in the village of Bilohorivka, Donetsk Oblast, by the soldiers of the 81st Separate Airborne Brigade, and Zhang Renbo, 26, captured on 5 April 2025 near the village of Tarasivka, Donetsk Oblast, by the 157th Separate Mechanised Brigade.
Zelenskyy reported that these two Chinese nationals had been brought to the Security Service of Ukraine in Kyiv. "I think we will give journalists the opportunity to speak with them. I think it will be appropriate. They are more talkative than the prisoners from North Korea, as we can see," the president added.
Background:
On 8 April, Zelenskyy reported that Ukrainian troops in Donetsk Oblast had captured two Chinese citizens who were fighting in the ranks of the Russian military. Zelenskyy also noted that he had instructed Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to urgently contact Beijing to determine how China intends to respond.
The two citizens of the People's Republic of China were captured in Donetsk Oblast by soldiers from the 81st Separate Airborne Slobozhanska Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces and the 157th Separate Mechanised Brigade.
A Chinese citizen captured by Ukrainian forces during the fighting near the settlement of Bilohorivka in Luhansk Oblast revealed that he joined the Russian military through an intermediary in China, paying RUB 300,000 (approximately US$3,480). His motivation was the promise of Russian citizenship. He underwent military training in occupied Luhansk Oblast, where he had no interpreter, relying instead on gestures and a phone to communicate.
Beijing, in response to reports of the capture of two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia in Ukraine, said it was checking the information and stressed that it had consistently urged its citizens to refrain from participating in any form of armed conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that 155 Chinese nationals are fighting against Ukraine on its territory, although the number may be higher.
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