BEIJING, May 6. /TASS/. Western countries plan to use Ukraine as "cannon fodder" to make Russia weaker and to maintain their hegemony, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said on Friday.

"China has no geopolitical goals in that crisis. On the contrary, some major powers have done nothing to help resolve this problem or facilitate peace talks. They are trying to exploit the crisis to weaken Russia and fight it to the last Ukrainian," he said at a video conference forum: ‘Seeking Peace and Development: An Online Dialogue of World Centers of Expertise From 20 Countries.’

"They probably do not care about peace talks or ceasefire, nor do they care about the lives and security of the people of Ukraine. The only way they are determined to use Ukraine for is as cannon fodder in order to weaken Russia and sacrifice the Ukrainians to serve their hegemonic ambitions and geopolitical goals," the diplomat concluded.

On February 24, Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request for help from the heads of the Donbass republics. After that, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and some other countries imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia.