ANKARA – A senior Ukrainian official said Tuesday that his country hopes China, as an important global actor, will play a more notable role to bring an end to the war with Russia.
"Kyiv is hopeful that Beijing will play a more prominent role in bringing this war to an end," Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said on his Twitter account.
“We look forward to (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and (Chinese President) Xi Jinping talk,” he noted, adding the leading countries worldwide should agree on deterring Russia, including China.
On Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said China should be involved in the solution process regarding the war, and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded the same day, saying the conflicting countries should maintain contact and resolve the issue through diplomacy.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which began on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US and UK among others implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
Peace talks tough but progressing
Ukraine’s president said early Wednesday that negotiations with Russia on ending the war were difficult but are slowing moving forward.
In a video address on his Telegram account, Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the latest developments regarding the war, negotiations and evacuations.
“Ukrainian representatives are working on the negotiations, which continue virtually every day. It is difficult, sometimes scandalous. But step by step, we are moving forward,” Zelenskyy said.
He noted that the talks with Russia were ongoing at various levels to bring an end to the brutal war, which has left thousands of people dead and millions displaced.
Some 100,000 people are stranded in the besieged city of Mariupol and are being forced to live under a complete blockade in inhumane conditions without food, water and medicine, according to Zelenskyy, who noted that around 7,000 others were evacuated but Russian forces hampered the evacuation process.
“Our representatives are trying to agree on humanitarian corridors in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk regions,” he said, adding further evacuations would take place in Mariupol on Wednesday.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which began on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US and UK among others implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
At least 953 civilians have been killed during the war and 1,557 injured, according to a tally by the UN.
The international body warns, however, that the true toll is "considerably higher."
The Ukrainian military on Wednesday claimed some 15,600 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war.
Ukrainian forces have also destroyed 101 Russian aircraft, 124 helicopters, 517 tanks, 1,578 armored carriers, 267 cannons, 80 rocket launcher systems, and 47 air defense systems since Feb. 24, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.
The Russian forces also lost 1,008 vehicles, four light speedboats, 70 fuel vehicles, and 42 UAVs, it added.
More than 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine amid the Russian attacks, according to the UN refugee agency. (Anadolu)
