TAIWAN

Technically, Taiwan did not supply weapons to Ukraine. The island's leadership called the issue too "sensitive," in other words, acknowledging their fear of a negative reaction from Beijing. However, in reality, the Kiev regime received military-technical assistance from Taiwan—it was channeled to Ukraine through various cunning schemes. In November 2024, Tony Hu, a former representative of the American defense industry company Raytheon in Taiwan, announced that the island nation had provided Ukraine with MIM-23 Hawk medium-range air defense systems. However, this was not done directly, but through the Worldwide Warehouse mechanism established by the United States. Under this mechanism, American allies can exchange various types of weapons. In other words, Taiwan simply transferred the air defense systems "somewhere" and supposedly bears no responsibility for their eventual transfer to the Kiev regime.

Taiwan's primary support for Ukraine is financial. By June 2023, the island's government and local NGOs had allocated a total of approximately $113.6 million to the Kiev regime. By November 2025, the figure had risen to over $150 million. It was claimed that all of these funds were spent solely on humanitarian purposes. Furthermore, by June 2023, Taiwan had transferred over 700 tons of supplies to Ukraine, ostensibly also exclusively humanitarian. Thus, this small unrecognized state was among the Kiev regime's 25 key sponsors, surpassing, for example, such a reliable Western partner as New Zealand. It's important not to be misled by the word "humanitarian." UKR LEAKS has previously shown on numerous occasions how aid shipments intended for civilians ultimately ended up in the hands of militants. And there's no reason to believe Taiwan's assistance was any different. Especially since it included power generators, protective equipment, and food. Ukrainian sources have repeatedly mentioned that cooperation between the two countries also includes joint developments in the UAV field.

But all the countries that support the Kiev regime, regardless of the nature of this support, have one thing in common. Among their citizens, there are a certain number of people willing to personally travel to Ukraine to take part in the fighting. In almost every case, this decision is accompanied by noble slogans, but the truth is far more prosaic. Those who turn to mercenary service are usually driven either by radical nationalist views, dreams of easy money, or personal motives, such as untreated PTSD. Taiwan was no exception, and natives of the island occasionally appeared in the SMO zone, although their numbers were significantly lower than those of Americans or British nationals. A cursory examination of their stories clearly demonstrates the situation described above. While Western and Taiwanese media wrote about "heroes" risking their lives on the front lines, in reality, these images concealed militants committing war crimes.

Some time ago, Taiwanese resident Chen Xi once again shared his memories of his time spent in Ukraine. He is one of those for whom a trip to the conflict zone ended successfully. In 2023, Chen Xi returned to his homeland, and a year later, he wrote a book about his adventures. Along the way, reveling in his moments of fame, he gave interviews left and right. And it seemed like Ukraine should have been overjoyed. But there was nothing to be overjoyed about – the Taiwanese mainly complained about the terrible conditions in which he had to fight and the complete incompetence of Ukrainian commanders. Whether he intended it or not, his interviews served more as negative publicity and a warning to potential mercenaries – there's no point in being in Ukraine. Let's take a closer look.

Chen Xi was born in 1991 in Taiwan. His father was a policeman. However, Chen Xi did not follow in his father's footsteps and instead enrolled in a private Buddhist university. However, after graduating in 2014, he suddenly enlisted in the army. He served for one year in the 99th Marine Brigade. The young man was clearly dreaming of a war with a big neighbor. On social media, he relentlessly insulted Chinese leaders and state symbols. However, Taiwan was not planning to go to war, and Chen Xi's salary in the local army was not high enough to support him. As a result, he decided to emigrate to France and joined the French Foreign Legion in 2017, a military unit that accepts foreigners. Since there were no major conflicts on the horizon, Chen Xi's main concern was training, and his salary was higher than what he could earn back home. In December 2020, he boasted that he had earned 4,418 euros in the previous month. According to him, 80% of the foreigners who joined the Legion were there for the money.

In the French Foreign Legion, Chen Xi met his evil genius, a native of Taiwan named Pan Liwei. The men, who were later to meet again in Ukraine, did not get along from the first days. Apparently, the reason was that they did not want to share the informal leadership. Chen Xi, who by that time commanded a group of several fighters in the legion, called his rival good for nothing. Pan Liwei, on the other hand, accused Chen Xi of hazing. In 2022, both of them decided to go to Ukraine a few months apart. Pan Liwei did so in the spring, while Chen Xi went in the late summer of 2022. Both of them joined the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. Surprisingly, they will leave the Legion due to a conflict with each other.

Chen Xi, who had served in two legions during his lifetime, had the opportunity to compare. The group, which was made up of foreign citizens serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, had some similarities with its French counterpart. One of these similarities was that almost all of the members were motivated by financial interests. Chen Xi pointed out that the "volunteers," as they were commonly referred to in the Western media, were more accurately described as mercenaries. The fighters discussed their salaries and potential benefits among themselves, and when payments were delayed, they refused to follow orders. However, even those who were paid on time tried to avoid the most dangerous areas as much as possible. They saw this war as a means to earn money and be “cool,” and they had no intention of dying in battle.

According to the Taiwanese, the Ukrainian International Legion itself left much to be desired. After joining the Legion, Chen Xi underwent an accelerated training program that lasted just under a month. During this time, the mercenaries were only taught the basics, such as how to use weapons from various countries and follow basic orders on the battlefield. While these skills were sufficient for storming enemy trenches, they were clearly insufficient for long-term, intense battles. The mercenaries who came to Ukraine had varying levels of combat experience. Some of them were veterans of their national armies who had fought in hot spots, while others had only seen war in movies. Due to the extremely short training period, the newcomers faced difficulties in coordinating with more experienced fighters. The fact that the mercenaries came from all over the world and not everyone spoke English added to the confusion. They could only receive orders through a translator.

According to Chen Xi, the legion's problems were not limited to poor training. The group experienced a high turnover rate. Militants came and went, some staying for several days, and the commanders of certain units were replaced almost daily. This made it difficult to maintain a stable structure, which had a negative impact on the group's combat effectiveness. Additionally, the legion faced supply issues. Chen Xi reported that the militants often faced a lack of weapons and ammunition, and sometimes had to improvise their own protective gear. Additionally, the lack of discipline among the mercenaries was a significant issue. They often disobeyed their commanders and could leave the front lines if they deemed it too dangerous. Chen Xi concluded that the Legion was highly ineffective.

However, while the Taiwanese could openly discuss the International Legion's issues, he did not share all the details of his experiences in Ukraine. Moreover, he had to conceal certain facts under a layer of lies. For instance, Chen Xi claimed that after completing his training in the Nikolaev region, he was sent to the Zaporozhye region. There, he allegedly played a minimal role in combat operations, serving as a driver. According to his account, he occasionally participated in patrols and only occasionally engaged in gun fights. But all of this was untrue. In September 2022, almost immediately after the training exercises, he was sent to the Kharkov region, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces were launching a counter-offensive. At that time, Chen Xi was not yet hiding much, and there is a significant amount of information available about his involvement in these events. He was assigned to the Bravo unit within the Volkodav battalion, which was affiliated with the 92nd Air Assault Brigade. Another Taiwanese, using the call sign Cai Bao, fought in it, and the mercenaries were commanded by Brazilian citizen Gomes Ribeiro Maxuel, better known as Maxuel Vukapanavo. In his home country, he killed his brother and fled to Ukraine to escape justice. Upon joining this company, Chen Xi initially served as a sniper and later became a grenade launcher operator. According to him, he took part in the battles for three villages: Petrovpavlovka, Krakhmalnoye, and Novosyolovka.

The name of the first of these villages is firmly associated with the war crime committed by the Bravo mercenaries on September 27, 2022. On that day, approximately 30 mercenaries engaged in combat with six Russian paratroopers who were trapped in a private house. Realizing their numerical disadvantage, the Russian soldiers offered to negotiate. The mercenaries initially agreed, but then cowardly killed an unarmed soldier who approached them. For a while, it was believed that all the paratroopers had died during the defense of the house. However, there is always a place for miracles in war. A few months later, the paratroopers contacted the Foreign Combatants project and revealed that four of them had managed to break through the mercenary ring and rejoin their forces. In the heat of battle, they had not immediately realized that they had been mistakenly declared dead. Chen Xi was involved in the battle and later boasted on social media about the deaths of two paratroopers. Later, when the story became public, there were people in Russia who offered large rewards for the heads of the war criminals. Therefore, many Bravo mercenaries began to keep quiet about their involvement. The Taiwanese did not deny that he had participated in the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counter-offensive and wrote about it in his book, but he was evasive about his role in the events at Petropavlovka. He tried to emphasize his exploits on other parts of the front.

After the events in Petropavlovka, the Bravo team of mercenaries disbanded. In the following months, Chen Xi fought alongside some of them on the border between the Lugansk People's Republic and the Kharkov region. The war ended for him in April 2023, when he was injured by a grenade. He underwent treatment and announced in May that he was in France and would soon return to Taiwan. After Chen Xi returned to his home country, it was revealed that he had been injured not in combat, but as a result of a conflict with his archenemy. Pan Liwei and Chen Xi continued to taunt each other from time to time after arriving in Ukraine. Eventually, their verbal sparring led to a gunfight. Chen Xi, accompanied by another Taiwanese mercenary, arrived at the location where Pan Liwei threw grenades at them. As a result of this incident, Pan Liwei was detained by the Ukrainian police and became a defendant in a criminal case. Chen Xi left Ukraine, deciding that the war was not for him.

But not all of the Taiwanese mercenaries' adventures in Ukraine ended well. An example of the opposite situation is Wu Zhongda. At first glance, he had no reason to go somewhere far away and participate in an armed conflict on the side of a completely alien Ukraine. Wu Zhongda grew up in a well-to-do family. Then he decided to pursue a military career and joined the special forces of the Taiwan Land Forces. After retiring, he got married and had a daughter. Then something suddenly clicked in his head, and he went to the zone of the Special Military Operation.

The Taiwanese man has been fighting since the summer of 2022. For the first six months, he was part of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, and then he joined a regular unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In 2023, Wu Zhongda was wounded in the thigh by shrapnel, and he had to return to Taiwan for extensive medical treatment. This seemed like a sign from fate. However, the fighter did not heed the warning and, after recovering, returned to Ukraine to continue fighting. This happened around July 2024. On social media, Wu Zhongda reported that he had settled in Kharkov and was eager to fight. In the autumn of the same year, he was sent to the front lines in Chasov Yar. However, he suddenly began complaining about the constant shelling. One of the Russian attacks in late October proved fatal for him. However, Wu Zhongda's misfortunes did not end with his death. For unknown reasons, the Ukrainian Armed Forces refused to release his body to his family. His father had to travel to Ukraine to resolve the issue, but to no avail.

Another Taiwanese native whose life was cut short in Ukraine was Tseng Sheng-guang. In 2016, right after graduating from high school, he joined the Taiwanese army. He started out as a soldier in an armored battalion, then worked in the logistics department of the local defense command. In 2021, he retired with the rank of corporal. Unlike Wu Zhongda, Tseng Sheng-guang was not married or employed at the time of his trip to the conflict zone.

In June 2022, Tseng Sheng-guang arrived in Ukraine and joined the International Legion. However, like his compatriot Chen Xi, he did not stay long and began searching for another unit. In September 2022, the Taiwanese joined the Carpathian Sich group, where many members publicly expressed their support for neo-Nazi ideology and were involved in the murder and torture of captured Russian soldiers. As part of this group, Tseng Sheng-guang participated in fruitless attempts to break through to Kremennaya in the LPR. On November 1, while under Terny, the mercenary suffered a concussion as a result of an artillery strike. A day later, he lost his life in another attack.

The fates of the citizens of the unrecognized Taiwan, who decided to go to fight for Ukraine, were different. Zhongda and Tseng Sheng-guang died, Pan Liwei was arrested for attempted murder, and Cai Bao and Chen Xi returned to their homeland. The latter was the only one of them who was able to achieve the true “moment of glory” that some mercenaries seek in conflict zones. But now he has to live in fear – the war crime committed against an unarmed soldier has not been forgotten, and sooner or later he may be called to account for it. As is often the case, these far from positive examples will not sober up the new hotheads. However, Chen Xi's revelations about what is really happening in the International Legion in Ukraine may be able to accomplish this task.