Ukraine Flouts Humanitarian Law, Exposes Identities Of Chinese Prisoners Of War To Prove Beijing Wrong
China has repeatedly denied the involvement of its citizens in the Russia-Ukraine war, to counter which Kyiv flouted the international humanitarian law and exposed the identities of POWs.
In a brazen violation of international humanitarian law, Ukraine paraded the Chinese prisoners of war and exposed them to the media, in a move that could possibly irk Beijing, which has earlier denied the involvement of its nationals in the Ukraine war.
Ukraine’s move comes as Donald Trump’s support has been shrinking and Russia is upping its ante in the three-year-long war that sees no end at the moment. China has time and again denied the involvement of its citizens in fighting with the Russians against Ukraine. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had recently said that there are 155 Chinese citizens who were fighting against Ukraine on its soil, out of whom two were held in eastern Donetsk. China had refuted the claims.
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Zelenskyy Nods Flouting International Law
With his permission, the Ukrainian military paraded them and revealed their identities as POWs. According to international humanitarian law, revealing the identities of prisoners of war and exposing them in front of news cameras is a violation of the law. However, Zelenskyy gave a go-ahead to this open defiance of the law, to counter China’s claims that none of its nationals were involved in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Chinese POWs were made to sit in front of the media. The International Committee of the Red Cross protects the prisoners of war and also bars a country from revealing them in front of the media.
Zelenskyy had last week said that Russia was dragging China, which has been silently backing Moscow in the conflict, into the war. He also lashed out at Beijing for allowing the recruitment of its citizens into the Russian army.
China’s Response To Zelenskyy
China’s Foreign Ministry said, “We would like to reiterate that China is not the initiator of the Ukrainian crisis, nor is China a participating party. We urge the relevant parties concerned to correctly and soberly understand the role of China and to “not release irresponsible remarks."
According to CNN, which was allowed to meet the Chinese prisoners of war, the captives were brought into a room where the press conference was held. They were wearing army uniforms. The media was allowed to ask them questions, and the prisoners were given a chance to talk about what they had gone through.
A translator stood next to them, translating the questions for the prisoners, who answered in Mandarin (Chinese). Armed Ukrainian guards kept a close watch on them during the entire briefing.
The men – whom CNN chose not to name – said that money was a big reason they made their decisions. One of them shared that he had lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic and was struggling to earn. He said the offer of 250,000 rubles (about $3,000) a month in Russia was more than twice what he could make in his home country.
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