One week ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that his intelligence services had identified at least 155 Chinese citizens fighting for Russia in Ukraine. “We are collecting information and we believe there are more, many more,” he said, adding that the Chinese government appeared to be “turning a blind eye” to recruitment efforts on Chinese social networks. China’s Foreign Ministry quickly called Zelensky’s claims “groundless,” but even this official response was non-existent in media coverage inside China. Meanwhile, the story received strong Chinese-language coverage in overseas outlets including Deutsche Welle, Radio France Internationale, Radio Free Asia and Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao (聯合早報).
But some of the most illuminating coverage had already emerged more than a week earlier — even before Zelensky’s public remarks. On March 30, former CCTV celebrity anchor Chai Jing (柴静) released an hour-long video special to her YouTube channel for which she interviewed Chinese fighters on both sides of the conflict. She spoke with “Ma Kalong” (马卡龙), a Russian-allied Chinese soldier, as well as several volunteer combatants fighting for Ukraine, such as Gao Shan (高山) and Peng Chenliang (彭陈亮), who was killed in action.
Chai suggests in her investigation that these fighters are not officially sent by China. However, the video released by Ukraine last week alludes tantalizingly to intermediaries, which points to networks in China that are likely recruiting fighters — a highly sensitive story one Chinese media insider tells us is just waiting to unfold.
According to Chai’s interviews, Russian-allied recruits are primarily motivated by financial incentives, while Ukraine’s Chinese volunteers cite ideological commitments to democracy and freedom. This contrast in motivation matches the stark difference in their treatment. While Russian-allied fighters describe poor equipment and conditions, Ukraine’s Chinese volunteers (though facing high casualty rates) express a sense of purpose in their choice. Chai Jing’s YouTube channel is chock full of excellent interviews, a welcome comeback from the former state journalist who once roused ordinary Chinese to share images of wasteful government buildings in China by saying: “You are a citizen, and you are a journalist.”
