Beijing responds to russia's threats to strike Kyiv and does not respond on embassy evacuation

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to moscow’s latest threats to launch massive missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital. Beijing limited itself to a traditional call to refrain from escalation, completely sidestepping the issue of a possible evacuation of its diplomats from Kyiv. It was reported by Ukrinform, citing a statement by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning during a media briefing.

Responding to a question about russia’s escalating missile blackmail and threats against Kyiv, the representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry once again reiterated her country’s standard position, avoiding direct condemnation of her strategic partner’s actions.

"China’s position on the Ukrainian crisis is consistent and clear. We believe that only dialogue and negotiations are the only viable way to resolve the conflict. We call on the relevant parties to work together to stop the escalation as soon as possible and create conditions for the resumption of dialogue and negotiations," Mao Ning stated.

At the same time, the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry did not provide a clear answer to a follow-up question about whether China plans to evacuate the staff of its diplomatic mission from Kyiv due to moscow’s warnings. The diplomat provided neither confirmation nor denial regarding the future format of the embassy’s operations in the Ukrainian capital.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on May 25, russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of moscow’s decision to launch strikes on Kyiv.