A Chinese language soldier captured whereas preventing alongside Russian forces mentioned he desires to return to China quite than go to Russia, in accordance with a brand new interrogation video revealed on April 10 by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine on April 8 introduced the seize of two Chinese language fighters working with Russian items close to the villages of Tarasivka and Bilohorivka in Donetsk Oblast. The Safety Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out its first interrogation of the prisoners on April 9.
Within the newest video of the questioning, the Chinese language nationwide informed the SBU that his unit was commanded by a Russian officer and described the situations beneath which he was captured.
"Once we hid in a wood shelter, a drone attacked us and broken my weapon," the prisoner mentioned. He recognized his weapon as a Kalashnikov AK-74 and mentioned he was accompanied by a Russian soldier in the course of the assault.
The captured fighter additionally mentioned that he was handled higher in Ukrainian custody than throughout his time with Russian forces.
"Right here in Ukraine they feed me higher than in Russia, and deal with me higher. It’s safer right here," he answered.
When requested a couple of potential prisoner trade, the person mentioned he didn’t wish to return to Russia.
"I would like to go to China," he mentioned, including that he had as soon as contacted his mother and father however didn’t inform them the place he was, to keep away from inflicting them fear. The soldier additionally mentioned he hardly ever had entry to the web.
The involvement of Chinese language nationals in Russia’s struggle towards Ukraine seems to be a part of a "systemic" recruitment effort, Zelensky mentioned on April 10.
The SBU is continuous its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Chinese language nationals' presence in Russian navy items. In response to a Ukrainian intelligence doc obtained by the Kyiv Unbiased on April 9, at the very least 163 Chinese language nationals are serving in Russia's armed forces.
The Kyiv IndependentChris York