As Ukraine-Russia war enters the 22nd day, bombing and shelling by Russians on the Ukrainian territory still prevails killing civilians and damaging infrastructures. Many world leaders have condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine that has been dubbed as the third world war.
A latest tweet shared by The Kyiv Independent suggests that Ukrainian media has quoted Fan Xianrong, China's ambassador to Ukraine, as telling Lviv Oblast Governor on March 16 that China 'would never attack Ukraine' and would provide economic aid to the war-torn country.
However, this has created a huge controversy on social media as many believes that China can't be trusted as it stands by Russia's Putin. As for example, earlier on March 8, US President Joe Biden announced a ban on oil, gas and other energy imports from Russia and in addition the European Commission published plans to cut EU dependency on Russian gas.
Responding to this, Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Zhao Lijian, claimed, "China firmly reject unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law. The willful wielding of the big stick of sanctions can never guarantee peace and security, but will only bring serious difficulties to the economy and people's livelihood of relevant countries, lead to a lose-lose situation and further escalate division and confrontation."
"China and Russia always maintain sound energy cooperation and will continue to conduct normal trade cooperation including on gas and oil in the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit," the Chinese diplomat added.
Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice has ruled that Russia must immediately suspend its military operations it had commenced on February 24 in Ukraine. While 13 judges voted in favor, 2 judges from Russia and China voted against the move.
Reports suggest that Russian air strikes and shelling has killed 53 civilians in Chernihiv on March 16, according to Chernihiv Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Chaus. Russian forces bombed a Drama Theatre in Mariupol on Wednesday, where hundreds of civilians were taking shelter. So far, 130 people, who survived the bombing, have been rescued from the ruins of Mariupol Drama Theater.
