The phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping was seen internationally as a positive sign. Praise for Zelenskyj’s conversation with Xi, who is better known as a confidante of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, came from Berlin and Washington, for example. The Ukrainian head of state himself later spoke of a “long and fairly reasonable conversation”.
“Now there is an opportunity to give new impetus to our Ukrainian-Chinese relations,” said Zelenskyy in his evening video address on Wednesday. “There is an opportunity to use China’s political clout to reassert the principles and rules on which peace should be based.”
Like Ukraine and the majority of the world community, China is interested in the strength of sovereign nations, their territorial integrity and the avoidance of nuclear catastrophes, Zelenskyy added. “We have agreed to continue our communication.”
Xi and Zelenskyy spoke on the phone for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Since then, however, Xi has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin several times. Critics accuse China of not being neutral in the conflict – also because the country has not yet condemned the Russian invasion.
Federal government: phone call from Xi and Zelenskyj good signal
The federal government took the phone call between Zelenskyj and Xi as a good signal. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has a “special responsibility to end Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine,” a government spokesman said. “The fact that there is now a dialogue between Ukraine and China at the highest level is a good signal.”
The German position on the war remains unchanged, the spokesman emphasized: “The basis for the development of a fair peace in Ukraine is a Russian troop withdrawal.”
The US government also welcomed the call. “We think that’s a good thing,” said National Security Council communications director John Kirby. The US government has said for some time that it is important for Xi and the Chinese government to listen to Ukraine’s perspective on Russia’s war of aggression. However, it is still unclear whether this could lead to a significant development towards peace.
Ukraine and Russia exchange prisoners of war again
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia again exchanged prisoners of war. “We managed to get 44 of our people home,” wrote the head of the presidential office in Kiev, Andriy Yermak, on Telegram. There are 36 soldiers and 6 officers who, among other things, defended the southeast Ukrainian port of Mariupol last year.
In addition, two civilians were released. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had exchanged 40 of its own soldiers. The men had already been taken to Moscow by plane.
NATO Secretary General wants faster expansion of arms production
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on the member states of the defense alliance to speed up the expansion of production capacities for weapons and ammunition. The point is to act more far-reaching and more quickly, said the Norwegian at the start of a two-day conference of national armaments directors at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The military capabilities required by the Alliance would have to be procured, and to do this it would have to work together and with industry.
What will be important on Thursday
Pope Francis plans to have an audience with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal in Rome.
