Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims his forces captured two Chinese nationals fighting in Ukraine this week.

Zelenskyy made the announcement with a video on Telegram, showing footage of a clearly concerned prisoner of war.

“Our military captured two Chinese citizens who fought in the Russian army,” Zelenskyy says in the video. “This happened on the territory of Ukraine – in the Donetsk region.”

“There are documents of these prisoners, bank cards, personal data. We have information that there are significantly more Chinese citizens in the units of the occupier than two,” he added.

“Russia’s involvement, directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin is going to do anything, except end the war. He is looking for a way to continue fighting. This requires a reaction from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who wants peace.”

A Ukrainian soldier exits the cabin of the DS3 artillery in the direction of Niu York, Ukraine, on March 5, 2025. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The incident comes after Ukrainian forces captured two North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russia in January.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told AFP it has “confirmed that the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers on January 9 in the Kursk battlefield in Russia.”

In this unverified photo shared by the Ukrainian military, a captured soldier believed to be North Korean is seen sitting in a bed inside a cell. (Ukraine Military handout)

Ukraine’s military says North Korean soldiers are outfitted in Russian military uniforms and carry fake military IDs in their pockets, a scheme that Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, says could mean Moscow and “its representatives at the U.N. can deny the facts.”