Photo: screenshot of the Weibo account of Ukraine Embassy to China

With the sudden announcement of Russia recognizing "the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR)" and "the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)" as independent and sovereign states, the Ukraine Embassy to China released a statement concerning the issue in Chinese on Tuesday, bringing the issue to a top trending topic on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo. 

Ukraine Embassy's remarks were followed by statements from a number of other embassies including Russia, France and the UK. Chinese netizens were fascinated and said they couldn't believe Weibo has become a platform of court hearings for international affairs. 

The Ukrainian Embassy to China said in a statement on Weibo that Ukraine condemns Russia's recognition of the independence of the LPR and DPR, calling it a serious violation of the UN Charter and Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.

The statement said the decision "will not produce any legal effects, and it has sharply escalated the situation and can mean the Russian Federation's unilateral withdrawal from the Minsk agreements. … Taking into account all risks, we do not give in to provocations and will continue to work on the political and diplomatic settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict."

"Therefore, we insist on tough sanctions against Russia to send a clear signal that no further escalation of the situation will be allowed. It is time to act to end Russian aggression and restore peace and stability in Europe," the statement said. 

Photo: screenshot of the Weibo account of Russian Embassy to China

Following Ukraine's statement, the embassy of Russia in China posted that Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the Executive Orders on the Recognition of "DPR" and "LPR," and inked Treaties of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Russia and the two parties. 

It also shared Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya's statement at the UN Security Council on Tuesday, who said, "I remind that by the moment the Minsk Agreements were signed, the LPR and DPR had already proclaimed independence. The fact that Russia recognized this independence today makes no changes to the list of sides to the Minsk Agreements, because Russia is not a side thereto." Nebenzya added that "Another point is that Ukraine, under the Western patronage, has long been openly sabotaging the Minsk Agreements that were supposed to start being implemented back in 2015."

Following the announcements, a number of embassies of European countries in China, including France and the UK, also issued statements on Weibo calling for emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and the sanctions and reactions toward Russia. 

The ''Ukraine issue'' became a hot topic on Weibo on Tuesday, with some 900 million views and prompting nearly 200,000 discussions. 

"Another chess piece played by the US. It's pathetic," commented a netizen under the post of the Ukrainian Embassy to China. Others joked that "the Ukrainian war has been moved online because of the pandemic, and please forgive for any inconveniences."

Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called on all parties on the Ukraine issue to remain calm, ease tensions and resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation.

Global Times