Zelensky Urges Trump to Leverage Influence with Xi Jinping to Curb Russian Support
KYIV,Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly called on former U.S. President Donald trump to use his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping to pressure Beijing into reducing its support for Russia’s war effort. The appeal comes as a new report alleges further Russian war crimes and crimes against humanity within Ukraine.
The call for intervention coincided with the release of a report from an autonomous international commission of inquiry established by the UN Human Rights Council following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The commission accuses Russia of committing a new “crime against humanity” by systematically forcing Ukrainian civilians to flee territories under Russian control through continuous drone attacks.
The report, published Monday, expands on previous findings from May that designated Russian drone attacks in the Kherson region as the crime against humanity of ”murders.” This latest investigation broadens the scope to over 300 kilometers along the Dnieper River, encompassing the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions, and now includes “forced population transfer” as a crime against humanity. The commission alleges Russian troops “intentionally target civilians and civilian objects,” citing attacks on ambulances and firefighters.
Furthermore, the report details that Russia’s expulsion of civilians from occupied areas in the Zaporizhia region during 2022 and 2023 constitutes the war crimes of ”deportations and transfers.” Victims were reportedly forced to travel 10 to 15 kilometers across a “highly hazardous operational zone” to reach Ukrainian lines.
The commission, which operates independently of the UN and is not recognized by moscow - receiving no assistance from Russian authorities – based its findings on interviews with 226 people, including victims and witnesses, and the examination of over 500 videos.
While the report details alleged Russian actions, President Zelensky’s plea to Trump focuses on possibly altering the geopolitical landscape. He believes Trump’s established rapport with Xi Jinping could be instrumental in convincing China to curtail its economic and potentially military assistance to Russia, a move Kyiv hopes will considerably impact the conflict.
