China has begun withdrawing its citizens from Ukraine, according to state media, as fears for their safety rise and fury grows over Beijing's unwillingness to criticize Russia's invasion.
According to the state-run Global Times newspaper, a group of over 600 Chinese students evacuated the capital Kyiv and the southern port city of Odessa on Monday, citing personnel at Chinese missions in Ukraine.
They moved by bus to neighboring Moldova, escorted by the embassy and protected by local police, with one evacuee describing the six-hour journey as "safe and smooth."
One individual was hurt by a gunshot while traveling by road from eastern Ukraine to the western city of Lviv, according to state broadcaster CCTV, who added that they were being treated in a hospital. There were no further details provided.
Another 1,000 Chinese people were scheduled to depart Ukraine on Tuesday for Poland and Slovakia, both of which are members of the European Union.
According to a later update, some 700 to 800 Chinese people were evacuated by vehicle to Moldova, from whence they can go to Romania and board a chartered airplane to China.
China has walked a diplomatic tightrope in the Ukraine war, combining its oft-stated stance on the integrity of state sovereignty with a reluctance to criticize its close ally Russia.
In the weeks preceding up to the invasion, countries such as the U.S., U.K. and Japan evacuated diplomats and advised residents to go, China waited until last Thursday to declare that charter flights would be organized.
However, those planes have yet to take place, and Ukraine's airspace has now been restricted.
In a video message sent out last Sunday, the Chinese ambassador denied fleeing Kyiv, saying he was "waiting until it is safe" to leave.
Around 6,000 Chinese residents are working or studying in Ukraine, according to the Chinese government.
Its embassy in Kyiv initially advised people wanting to leave to attach a Chinese flag to their vehicles, but reversed course after unconfirmed social media reports of increased animosity toward Chinese citizens surfaced.
China's foreign ministry announced on Tuesday that it was assisting citizens in leaving the country, but provided no other specifics.
"The Chinese foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy and consulate in Ukraine have dispatched all resources and made all efforts to provide support and assistance," ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a routine briefing.
Chinese nationals leaving Ukraine can enter Poland and stay for up to 15 days without a visa, according to the Polish embassy in Beijing.
