Putin and Xi Jinping have professed an ‘unlimited’ friendship (Image: Getty)
A shocking new video appears to show is recruiting volunteers from China to fight in .
army has sustained horrific losses during the course of the almost three-year war.
Western defence analysts believe that the Russians have lost between 600,000 and 700,000 soldiers – including both injured and killed.
With the Russian President unwilling to sanction a national mobilisation over fears such a move could ignite serious social protest, the Kremlin has sought to recruit foreign fighters to replenish its frontline ranks.
Many of these mercenaries have reportedly come from countries such Cuba, Nepal, Syria, Serbia, Afghanistan, Somalia and Malaysia.
The Kremlin has offered the foreign fighters a monthly salary of between £1,600 to £2,400, as well as a simplified path to Russian citizenship.
Evidence is now emerging that Chinese mercenaries are also signing up to fight for Putin in .
A video posted on social media channels appears to show a Chinese mercenary walking through the recently captured city of Kurakhove in ‘s Donetsk region.
The soldier films himself and talks into the camera as he walks with his unit through the streets of the city.
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He says, according to an online translation tool: “Hello everyone, today is the 15th and it’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon. We are a few soldiers and there are two black men and a civilian behind us. I think they are going to carry the wounded. I don’t know what they are doing. Anyway I am still alive.”
Moving his camera to show two men in front of him, he adds: “This is a soldier and this is my stupid commander. Okay I am going. See you next time.”
A Ukrainian intelligence officer verified the video for the Express, which was shot in Kurakhove, near .
They said: “There have been reports of Chinese volunteers in Russian service beginning back in 2022.
“It seems to me it’s not a massive government campaign but private volunteers. There are Chinese military attachés with the Russians for sure but they tend to have a low profile.”
Mark Galeotti, a defence and intelligence expert working for the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), added: “The Russians are perfectly willing to hire volunteers from wherever (just like the Ukrainians), and we know they have recruits from Nepal to Latin America, so the presence of a Chinese soldier is nothing necessarily significant, especially as many Chinese do speak Russian.
“There is certainly no evidence of any organised, state-backed Chinese presence.”
Unlike North Korea, China has not signed a formal security agreement committing it to provide military assistance to in the event it is invaded by an enemy.
On the other hand, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea’s dictator, has sent both weapons and troops to to help Putin’s army in its war with .