The Chinese embassy in Ukraine issued a warning to its citizens in the country early Thursday, urging them to place the Chinese flag on their vehicles for safety.
“The situation in Ukraine has deteriorated dramatically. There have been bombings in several cities and military operations are ongoing,” the embassy statement said. It urged citizens to stay home and away from windows or glass, and warned that “serious riots” could take place in the streets.
It added that if Chinese citizens are driving on the road, “the Chinese national flag can be affixed to the visible part of the bodywork.”
It also asked Chinese nationals to closely monitor the situation, stay in touch with overseas Chinese organizations and “lend each other a helping hand to reflect the image of the Chinese people and the strength of China”.
A tricky place for China: China has found itself in an uneasy position during the ongoing crisis; China and Russia have presented an increasingly united front in the face of what they view as Western interference in their internal affairs and threats to their security. That partnership was very publicly reinforced a few weeks ago at a Xi-Putin summit.
Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador to the United Nations, on Wednesday evening called on all sides to “stay cool and rational” and said “a peaceful solution” was still possible – even as the Ukrainian ambassador declared it was “too late” for the escalation given Russia’s attacks.