On Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry, as well as the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine, urged Chinese citizens to leave Ukraine amid security concerns.
As of 02:30 GMT on Monday, 180 Chinese citizens have filled out the evacuation registration form on the embassy’s WeChat page. Another 36 people have filled out the self-evacuation form.
According to the Global Times newspaper, the evacuation was initiated as a preventive measure, aimed at protecting the well-being of Chinese citizens. In March, around 6,000 Chinese citizens were evacuated from Ukraine, according to Global Times.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said last Monday that Beijing hoped for a speedy de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine in light of the strikes targeting Ukrainian infrastructure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russia's Security Council on October 10 that Russia had carried out retaliatory strikes using precision-guided weapons against Ukrainian infrastructure, in response to the crimes committed by Kiev against the Russian civilian infrastructure. Putin condemned the bombing of the Kerch Strait Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge, that took place on October 8, saying that such a terror act cannot be left without retaliation.
Precision strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure were carried out throughout the past week.