Beijing on Thursday told Russia's foreign minister it understands Moscow's "reasonable concerns on security issues" over Ukraine, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry, after President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the country.

Putin announced the launch of a major military offensive with ground troops crossing into the country from several directions on Thursday and explosions heard in Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

World leaders swiftly condemned the attack, and 18 people have been killed in an air strike on a military base near Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odessa.

In a phone call between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart, Wang said that although Beijing "has always respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries... we have also seen that the Ukrainian issue has its own complicated and unique history".

"We understand Russia's reasonable concerns on security issues," he added.

Beijing has been walking a diplomatic tightrope as the Ukraine-Russia crisis escalated, forced to balance its close Russia ties with major economic interests in Europe.

Russia has demanded guarantees that Kyiv will never be allowed to join NATO -- and Moscow's approach is in stark contrast to China's long-standing stated foreign policy position not to interfere in other countries' internal affairs.

On Thursday's call Wang did not mention NATO but told Sergei Lavrov that China advocates a "balanced" and sustainable European security mechanism to be achieved through dialogue and negotiation.

The foreign ministry repeatedly declined to call the attack an "invasion" at a press briefing Thursday and said it was monitoring the situation.

It has not advised its citizens in Ukraine to leave, telling them to be cautious and stick a Chinese flag on their cars.

China organises charter flights to evacuate nationals in Ukraine
Beijing (AFP) Feb 24, 2022 - China's embassy in Ukraine has announced the organisation of charter flights to evacuate those Chinese nationals who wish to leave the country under attack from Russia, even as Beijing says it understands Moscow's "reasonable" security concerns.

Beijing launched a process to collect the information of those wanting to leave, saying that the registration window would close on Sunday. No timetable was given for when the flights would begin.

China has said about 6,000 of its citizens are in Ukraine.

"At present, the situation in Ukraine has deteriorated rapidly, and our citizens and Chinese enterprises in Ukraine face high risk to their security," the embassy said in a statement.

"We have started registration to prepare for transfer arrangements by chartered flights... The flight time will be confirmed according to the safety situation of the flights, and will be notified in advance."

Russian forces have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, unleashing air strikes and sending its troops deep into the country, after weeks of diplomatic efforts failed to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from launching the military operation.

On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Beijing "has always respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries" but understood "Russia's reasonable concerns on security issues".

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NATO activating 'defence plans' for allies as Russia invades Ukraine
Brussels (AFP) Feb 24, 2022
NATO is activating its "defence plans" for allied countries as Russia attacks non-NATO member Ukraine, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg told a media conference on Thursday. Stoltenberg also confirmed that NATO will hold a video summit on Friday to discuss the Russian invasion of its pro-Western neighbour. And he reiterated that NATO had no "plans" to send alliance troops to Ukraine. It is the first time the alliance has publicly said it is activating its defence plans, which were drawn up aft ... read more