Chinese in Ukraine urged to ‘pay close attention’ to situation, but not told to leave

Name: ‘We’re scared’: fear and uncertainty on Ukraine’s front lines
Uploaded: 2022-02-12T10:58:18.000Z
Duration: 2 min 38 s
Description: ‘We’re scared’: fear and uncertainty on Ukraine’s front lines

WeChat post by Chinese embassy urges citizens to ‘enhance defensive awareness’ of changing situation

The focus, however, appears to be on Covid-19, even as the US and others urge nationals to evacuate immediately over Russian invasion fears

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Ukrainian troops on a 200km day-night-day combat training march on February 12. Photo: AFP/Armed Forces of Ukraine

Orange Wang

Published: 6:58pm, 12 Feb 2022Updated: 7:48pm, 12 Feb 2022

China urged its citizens in Ukraine to “pay close attention to” changes in the local situation, as the United States and several other countries asked their nationals to evacuate immediately amid warnings of an imminent invasion by Russia.

A notice posted by the Chinese embassy in Ukraine on its public WeChat account on Friday reminded citizens to “enhance defensive awareness”, but did not ask them to leave the country.

This came as Russia continued its massive troop build-up near the Ukraine border, raising fears of a war.

The latest talks on Thursday failed to achieve a breakthrough, though dialogue was expected to continue. Moscow denies it plans to invade, despite reportedly massing more than 100,000 troops near the border.

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‘We’re scared’: fear and uncertainty on Ukraine’s front lines

The White House has warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin “any day”, even before the end of the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympics. Adding to the sense of crisis, the Pentagon ordered an additional 3,000 US troops to Poland – which neighbours Ukraine – to reassure Nato allies.

Authorities in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv said on Saturday that they had approved an evacuation plan for residents in case of a Russian invasion.