China says it has sent a first shipment of humanitarian aid to war-torn Ukraine, as Beijing comes under growing pressure to mediate on the Russian invasion.
Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the first batch of a 5 million yuan (US$791,300) emergency aid donation was dispatched from Beijing on Wednesday through the Red Cross Society of China.
The food and other necessities were arranged at the request of Ukraine and would be delivered “as soon as possible through appropriate means”, Zhao told a regular press conference in Beijing.
Zhao also expressed Beijing’s “strong opposition” to the latest sanctions on Russia’s energy sector by the United States, European Union and Britain, and said trade between China and Russia would continue – including oil and gas. Läs artikel