Hundreds of Chinese citizens plan to evacuate Ukraine as war escalates

More than 200 people indicate they will leave the country as security worsens
Beijing has increased calls for citizens to flee as Russia hits back over Crimea bridge attack

Ukraine war

Kawala Xie

Published: 4:30pm, 17 Oct, 2022

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More than 200 Chinese nationals signed up for evacuation from Ukraine after Beijing renewed calls for citizens to leave the country as security worsens.

In a notice on Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry urged its citizens to leave Ukraine and to register with the Chinese embassy for evacuation.

The embassy later released registration forms on its WeChat account, saying it would “vigorously provide assistance” for remaining nationals who wished to leave the country.

Xi’s indirect message to the US in his Communist Party congress report

So far a total of 186 have signed up for organised evacuation with help from the embassy, while 40 have registered to Ukraine on their own, according to the embassy’s WeChat account on Monday.

China has increased calls for citizens to leave Ukraine in the aftermath of the bombing of a vital bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula on October 8. Beijing issued three consecutive notices on October 10 to warn people of the intense security situation and ask them to take shelter during air raids.

The embassy collects information each month on the number of citizens still living in Ukraine and one of the Chinese notices said some people had failed to report in.

Around 6,000 Chinese citizens returned to China from Ukraine in March – the biggest evacuation so far.

02:17

Putin says Ukraine behind Crimea bridge blast, calling it ‘act of terrorism’

Russia has retaliated following the Crimea bridge attack, carrying out multiple precision attacks across Ukraine last week. Drone strikes and explosions were also reported in Kyiv on Monday.

China has issued multiple safety alerts for Ukraine since the war started on February 24, just days after Chinese President Xi Jinping met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

China calls for de-escalation of war in Ukraine after Crimea bridge blast

China has so far been hesitant to directly condemn Russia’s actions on the global stage and has opposed sanctions against Moscow.

However, Beijing has consistently pledged to support a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine war – a pledge Foreign Minister Wang Yi repeated during his address to the United Nations General Assembly last month.

According to some observers, Xi’s speech at the opening of the 20th Communist Party congress on Sunday in which he repeated China’s commitment to the international system, showed Beijing’s willingness to draw some lines between itself and Moscow and signalled its position on Ukraine.