Lagatar24 Desk
Beijing, Feb 27: China’s envoy to Ukraine on Sunday warned the current situation was too dangerous to evacuate nationals, just days after the embassy claimed it was preparing measures to assist those fleeing the Russian assault.
Chinese ambassador Fan Xianrong issued a lengthy video message on the embassy’s official WeChat account, attempting to debunk rumours that he had departed Kyiv and reassuring Chinese nationals stranded in the war-torn country.
“We must wait until it is safe before leaving,” said Fan from his office.
“As long as safety conditions are met and everyone’s safety is guaranteed, we will make appropriate arrangements,” he added.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on Thursday, has pushed about 150,000 people to escape to neighbouring nations, according to the United Nations.
As fears of war mounted, several countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan, evacuated diplomats and advised civilians to depart.
China, which has remained silent on the situation in favour of its close friend Russia, waited until Thursday to announce that it will plan charter flights to evacuate its citizens.
The same day, Ukraine banned its airspace to civilian flights, citing a significant risk of weaponry.
“These past few days, like everyone else, we constantly heard sirens, explosions and gunshots and we repeatedly hid in the basement. These are the kinds of scenes we only previously saw in movies,” said Fan. He also urged Chinese citizens to not quarrel with locals, after a number of unverified social media claims of rising hostility towards Chinese citizens from Ukrainians.
