in the Donbass, “nothing will change” for these Ukrainians after the exchange between Volodymyr Zelensky and Xi Jinping

“My opinion is biased on Xi Jinping. He tries to take advantage of both sides and sit on two chairs at the same time”, slips Artem, in the streets of Sloviansk in the Donbass, near the front line. Like other Ukrainians, he does not trust the Chinese president. “Especially his last visit to Moscow: he stayed there three days, he has very close relations with Muscovites.” THE Ukrainian president had long hoped for this call from Beijing, which took place on Wednesday April 27, but Artem is rather reserved on this diplomatic advance.

>> War in Ukraine: can China play the role of “mediator” despite its ties with Russia?

“I think that if they had wanted to get along, the presidents of Ukraine and China would have done so a long time ago”, launches Natalia, who is not convinced by the Chinese scenario. In any case, this telephone exchange puts an end to a long silence from Beijing, which had never responded to kyiv’s requests for dialogue since the start of the conflict. This time, Ukraine has announced that it will appoint an ambassador to Beijing and China has repeated that peace requires negotiations, without however condemning the Russian invasion.

Questions about the role of China

Anastasia ended up relocating here after fleeing the bombardments, with little hope of finding peace there soon. “Nothing will change. How can Beijing help? she wonders. If Ukraine and Russia don’t get along, no one can help.” Any attempt at negotiations is welcome, according to Ludmila. “I think they will help. But the question is how? Financially of course, that’s what we need now, their country is great.” Before the war, China was Ukraine’s biggest trading partner.