Ukraine’s choice to show the captured Chinese nationals to the media raised questions about whether or not it can serve as a calculated social message to the global community.
The Russian government appears to have balanced the reputational risk with the strategic value of demonstrating to the world that Chinese citizens are now a part of the Russian military strategy despite Beijing’s repeated claims of impartiality, even though the move runs the risk of breaking international humanitarian law, which prohibits the release of prisoners of war from the public.
The captured Chinese soldiers, who spoke Mandarin with the aid of a speaker and sat under the watchful eye of armed soldiers, insisted they were self-assured during the press conference on Monday, were drawn to them by soft selection films and promises of higher salaries. They insisted they were acting individually and were lured by soft selection movies and the assurance of higher salaries.
Even though it had previously platformed soldiers from Nepal and African nations, this was the first time Ukraine had formally presented Chinese Hostages.
According to CNN, timing is crucial. As it seeks interest from the United States and is concerned about warming relations between the European Union and China, Kyiv’s shift seems directed at Washington and Brussels.
Ukraine does be trying to influence how the world perceives China’s role in the conflict as US-China tensions rise and the European Union looks into boosting trade assistance with Beijing.
According to Anders Puck Nielsen of the Royal Danish Defence College,” Immediately it seems there may be possible for the Europeans and the Foreign to find common ground on other issues as also.” It is obvious that this element of Chinese soldiers in the Russian army was a social move.
Earlier this month, Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the announcement that several hundred Chinese people were fighting alongside Russian army, which raises questions about how profoundly Beijing was involved.
Zelenskyy said,” We are not saying that someone gave any command; we do not have such information,” but that Ukraine believes” Beijing was aware of what was happening.”
This aligns with Ukraine’s wider efforts to introduce possible assistance for Russia beyond the diplomatic and economic domains, particularly from Beijing, which Nato has characterized as a “decisive facilitator” of the battle.
China soon denounced the action, calling it “manipulation and hype.” Beijing, according to AFP, said it was checking the information but that it had often advised its members to stay away from conflict-strikes. Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Foreign foreign ministry, urged the relevant parties to effectively and thoughtfully comprehend the role of China and refrain from making irresponsible remarks.
