Chinese nationals fighting for Russia in Ukraine are mercenaries: US officials

WASHINGTON: More than one hundred Chinese citizens fighting for the Russian military against Ukraine are mercenaries who do not appear to have a direct link to China’s government, two US officials familiar with American intelligence and a former Western intelligence official said.

Chinese military officers have, however, been in the theater behind Russia’s lines with Beijing’s approval to draw tactical lessons from the war, the former official told Reuters. The head of US forces in the Indo-Pacific, Admiral Samuel Paparo, confirmed on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had captured two men of Chinese origin in eastern Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country had information about 155 Chinese citizens fighting there on Russia’s behalf.

China, which has declared a “no-limits” partnership with Russia and has refrained from criticising Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, had called Zelensky’s remarks “irresponsible” and said China was not a party to the war.

The US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Chinese fighters appear to have minimal training and are not having any discernable impact on Russia’s military operations. The CIA, the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the National Security Council, as well as China’s embassy in Washington, did not respond immediately to requests for comment.