Islamabad, April 15, 2025 – Ukraine’s decision to publicly exhibit two Chinese nationals accused of fighting for Russian forces represents a significant escalation in Kyiv’s information campaign—and carries serious legal and diplomatic risks. During a high‑profile press conference on April 14, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unveiled footage of the two men, identified as Wang Guangjun and Zhang Renbao, who Ukraine says were captured in Donetsk in early April. By showcasing these individuals before international media, Kyiv aims to undermine Beijing’s insistence that its citizens are not involved in combat operations, but in doing so it has likely breached core protections guaranteed to prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the two Chinese nationals were first detained on April 8 during operations in the Donetsk region, and formally interrogated on April 9. Video released by the SBU shows one of the men, Wang, speaking through an interpreter and claiming he believed he was enlisting as a rehabilitation therapist rather than a combatant. Ukrainian intelligence now estimates that over 150 Chinese citizens have fought—or attempted to fight—alongside Russian forces, a figure meant to expose what Kyiv calls a “systematic” recruitment effort by Moscow.
In televised remarks and live Q&A sessions with foreign correspondents, Zelenskyy introduced the two detainees by name and displayed their captured equipment and documents, including purported recruitment materials from Chinese-language social media adverts. Observers noted that the display of identified POWs before reporters contravenes Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention, which prohibits exposing prisoners to public curiosity. Human Rights Watch warned as recently as March that “POWs must not become objects of public curiosity,” stressing that such treatment constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law.
China reacted with outrage. Beijing’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson denounced Kyiv’s actions as “irresponsible remarks” and called on Ukraine to “immediately cease such provocative measures.” China reiterated its neutral stance on the conflict and accused Ukraine of “politicizing humanitarian issues for propaganda purposes.” The Kremlin, meanwhile, dismissed Kyiv’s revelations as part of a disinformation campaign, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov arguing that China’s training and operational support for Russia remains purely civilian and logistical.
Kyiv defends the operation as a necessary step to compel international scrutiny of Beijing’s covert facilitation of Russian military manpower. National Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov asserted that only by putting “faces to the allegations” could the world appreciate the scale of foreign involvement on Russia’s side. Ukraine has also called for an independent investigation by the International Committee of the Red Cross to verify the detainees’ status and to press China for transparency.
Legal experts caution that Ukraine’s gambit may backfire. By violating POW protections, Kyiv risks undermining its own moral authority and could invite reciprocal mistreatment of Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russia. The OSCE’s latest monitoring report notes emerging instances of POW mistreatment on all sides of the conflict, emphasizing that breaches of humane treatment obligations “exacerbate hostilities and hamper prospects for prisoner exchanges and reconciliation.” Amnesty International has similarly urged Ukraine to uphold its Geneva Convention commitments, warning that “public curiosity cannot trump fundamental rights to dignity and privacy.”
The fallout is already visible in diplomatic channels. Beijing has lodged formal protests with Kyiv’s diplomatic mission in Warsaw and warned of “serious consequences” for bilateral ties. Western allies, while sympathetic to Ukraine’s strategic messaging needs, have privately expressed concern that eroding POW standards could set a dangerous precedent—particularly as the conflict grinds into its third year. As Kyiv balances the immediacy of countering Russian narratives against the long‑term necessity of maintaining international legal norms, its choice to spotlight Chinese prisoners may prove as perilous as it is provocative.
