A week of international affairs

Welcome back to another version of my Take 5, which is your weekly international news package. The Ukrainian war is still working hard, Trump targeting Chinese ships, Pakistan and Bangladesh hold foreign ministerial talks, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are back in shadow boxing, and Pope Franciscans die. So, let’s get started.

Continuous changes in the Ukrainian war: The war in Ukraine has seen many unrelated developments over the past week, none of which brings us closer to a ceasefire or a peace agreement. First, two Chinese nationals were arrested during the battle for Russia in Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine. President Zelenskyy later revealed that more than 150 Chinese citizens in Kiev fought for Russia during the war. Beijing certainly denied any formal participation. But it is not clear whether Beijing has no role in Chinese citizens joining the Russian military. After all, China has freely exported dual-purpose technologies by supporting Moscow’s military industrial building complex, thus allowing Russia to greatly help Russia in this war, and even allowing the Russian military to bypass sanctions, making the Russian military a key Western technology component needed. Therefore, it would not be surprising if China’s joint front-line work departments somehow promoted these Chinese citizens to join the Russian military.

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