Why is China Sending Soldiers to War in Ukraine? The Hill Version.

China is preparing to send its soldiers to Ukraine for the purpose of gaining combat experience and using it in future conflicts. This was reported by 'Glavkom' citing The Hill.

According to a former western intelligence officer, about 200 Chinese military personnel are fighting on the side of Russia in Ukraine. This information was confirmed by two anonymous American officials who noted that the number of soldiers exceeds 100.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also stated that there are over 150 Chinese military personnel present, and Ukrainian forces recently captured two of them.

The U.S. government considers these soldiers to be mercenaries with no official connection to Beijing. However, regardless of the truth of this information, the U.S. and other western countries should impose strict sanctions against China for allowing its citizens to participate in the war against Ukraine, notes columnist Gordon Chang.

'The Communist Party is eager to gain firsthand combat experience in Ukraine to use it for training the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA) in the future,' said Richard Fisher of the International Assessment and Strategy Center in Washington. 'For the PLA, the battlefield in Ukraine serves as a case study of innovative warfare against unmanned weaponry and electronic warfare systems directed against them.'

Analyst Fisher believes that the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA), having gained combat experience in Ukraine, will significantly increase its chances of a quick victory in the event of an invasion of Taiwan.

There is also a possibility that Chinese officers are doing more than just observing and reporting to China. They may be advising their Russian counterparts. China has been supporting Russia’s military efforts from the very beginning, notes the correspondent.

The journalist suggests that China may have consented to the invasion by releasing a joint statement from Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin on February 4, 2022 - just 20 days before Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Putin likely wanted to start earlier but agreed to wait until the end of the Winter Olympics in Beijing with billions of viewers.

Ukrainian military forces are holding two Chinese citizens who fought as part of the Russian army. They provided initial information about these foreigners during interrogation. Wang Guanjuan, a Chinese citizen, stated that after capturing a Ukrainian commander, he was saved from Russian shelling, while Zhang Renbo spoke of the betrayal by his Russian partner.