Two Chinese soldiers say they were paid substantial sums of money to join Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. They now say they want to go back to China.
Ukraine's Security Service held a news conference with the two Chinese prisoners in Kyiv on Monday. Officials say they were captured in the country's eastern region of Donetsk.
One of them, in his 30s, said he signed up after seeing Russian army commercials on the Chinese-run TikTok, offering a monthly salary of about 200,000 rubles, or roughly 2,400 dollars.
He said he lost his job during the pandemic and the amount seemed quite attractive. He described real war as completely different from what he has seen in movies and on TV.
The other, in his 20s, said he received a bank card with a sum of 200,000 rubles on it, but couldn't use it because Russians spent it.
He said he didn't kill anyone as he was in training for a month and surrendered after three days on the front line.
He said he regrets joining the Russian forces because he didn't get any benefit from doing so.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says more than 150 Chinese citizens have joined the Russian troops. He is urging Beijing to take countermeasures.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry says China is verifying the information and that the country is asking its citizens to stay away from any military operations.
Captured Chinese soldiers: Money attracted us to fight for Russia in Ukraine – nhk.or.jp
