The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

Chinese POWs captured by Ukraine on fighting for Russia

by Olena Zashko and Kateryna Hodunova April 16, 2025 6:43 PM 1 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

In early April, Ukrainian forces captured two Chinese nationals near the villages of Tarasivka and Bilohorivka in Donetsk Oblast. Now, they are being held by Ukraine's Security Service. Unlike North Korean troops, who have fought on Russian soil, the Chinese soldiers were captured on Ukrainian territory, marking a potential escalation in foreign involvement in Russia’s war of aggression.

President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that at least “several hundred” citizens of China are fighting on the Russian side against Ukraine, which might mark a new development in the tightening cooperation between Moscow and Beijing.

The Kyiv Independent attended a press conference with the captured Chinese prisoners of war on April 14 to learn more about their service in the Russian military — and has highlighted the key takeaways for you.

News Feed

6:54 PM

Mariupol defender appointed commander of Azov Brigade amid military reform.

Following the start of Russia's full-scale war in 2022, Hrishenkov defended Mariupol, where he was injured. After 86 days of defending the encircled city under heavy Russian bombardment, he and about 2,500 other fighters left the Azovstal steel plant after Ukrainian commanders ordered the defending garrison to lay down their arms.
6:21 PM

4 days of hunting Russian drones.

The Kyiv Independent contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent four days following an air defense unit guarding the skies over a region in eastern Ukraine, seeing how they live, work, and save civilians from the dozens of Russian drones flying toward Ukrainian cities each night.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.