Chinese Special Forces Spotted in Volgograd
By Bellendcat
December 2022
PLA Russia
A squad of Chinese forces pose for a photo in the Volgograd area. Although we stated before that firearms are not a surefire way of identifying forces, these soldiers have QBZ-95 rifles and the new QJS-161 machine gun-exclusively seen with the PLA. (Sina Weibo)
Over the past few years, it has become evident that China intends to participate more economically with the international scene. Whether that is trading coal and other supplies with North Korea, commerce through the Belt and Road initiative, or building infrastructure like airports, hospitals or dams in Africa, allustions of a Silk Road are apparent in this economic push.
Chinese companies have been contracted to build numerous dams in particular. Israel and Russia have hydroelectric dams built by the Chinese, and those dams have, naturally, Chinese personnel.
Chinese soldier with a Chinese hydroelectric dam engineer.
Public channels connected to the PLA have stated that due to the escalation between NATO backed Ukrainian troops storming Russian positions, the Chinese embassy has asked all its citizens to vacate and return to the mainland. While the government has released official statements stating they would extract its citizenry “…much like many nations did before the fall of Afghanistan…”, photograph evidence is sparse or unconfirmed.
However, we at Bellendcat have reason to believe these photos to be real. For starters, the firearms used by these soldiers are exclusively Chinese, and used by no other nation. The camouflage is that worn by Chinese Special Forces, which makes sense as a SMU would be utilized to extract civilians.
A recent government press release has stated that “Our troops, much like how soldiers helped extract people in Afghanistan, have strict orders to not be involved in direct combat. This is to prevent diplomatic strain with Russia and other parties involved.”
In between these genuine photos and official press statements, we can at least confirm Chinese troops were in Volgograd to help extract Chinese nationals.
A hydroelectric dam worker appears to be discussing the best escape options for staff to escape.
Here, a Chinese soldier is likely gathering all of the Chinese nationals working on the Volgograd Hydroelectric dam.