Xi Jinping and the plight of Chinese nationals in Ukraine

The plight of desperate Chinese nationals in Ukraine has further battered Xi Jinping’s credibility, testing his continued refusal to condemn the barbarity of his ‘best friend’ Vladimir Putin.

There have been unconfirmed reports that four Chinese students were among 13 killed when a Russian rocket hit a dormitory of Kharkiv’s Academy of Culture. Students took to social media to plead for help when none came from the Chinese embassy in Kyiv. ‘The embassy never comes, no plane comes. We can only save ourselves. They abandoned us,’ said one post on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform.

A video post claimed students were being shot at indiscriminately by Russian soldiers. Another appeal came from the basement of the Kharkiv Aviation Institute, saying that 188 Chinese students were sheltering there from the shelling. It was accompanied by a photograph of students sitting among a clutter of mobile phones and phone chargers.

A recording of a call to the Chinese embassy was listened to more than 1.5