According to a local logistics company in Odessa, at present the airport of Odessa is closed and flights are cancelled. Gas stations were full of cars. The person in charge said in this morning: “Daily lives are not affected for the time being.”

Mr. Wang, a Chinese who came to Ukraine more than 10 years ago, lives in the center of the capital city Kiev. He talked to New Silkroad Discovery, he was awakened by the sound of an explosion at about 4:00 a.m. on Thursday. At 7:30 in the morning, he heard the sound of the air defense alarm. His friends told him that military targets near the Kiev airport had been hit by missiles last night, and many military targets had been destroyed.

Wang said, all supermarkets have been temporarily controlled and restricted. Wang went to the supermarket this morning to buy only two buckets of water. Wang’s family was in a hurry to pack their luggage. They have received notices from the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine, suggesting that they should avoid going out, stay away from the windows and wait for the latest notification.

Wang’s Ukrainian friends told him that many families had already fled to Western Ukraine by car, and the road to the West was already congested.

Worries about whether the China-Europe freihgt trains will be affected

Trains to and through Ukraine (to Budapest) have been affected to varying degrees. Some of them have changed their routes and the trains heading to Kiev have been cancelled. Other trains that do not pass through Ukrainian territory are operating normally.

An industry insider expressed his worries: Will Russia be excluded from the SWIFT international payment system? Calls to exclude Russia from SWIFT are not new since 2014. The impact on the Russian export and economy, and the impact on the business dealing with Russian companies or international business in Russia would not be underestimated.

Furthermore, EU are annoucing a series of sanctions against Russia. Is it possible that sanction measures require Europian companies to ban the cargo transit through Russia? Will Russia also propose more counter-sanctions for previously embargoed foods?