Russia’s Top General Visits Troops in Ukraine to Discuss Next Steps 

Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
TT
20

Russia’s Top General Visits Troops in Ukraine to Discuss Next Steps 

Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)

Russia's top general, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, visited troops fighting in the war in Ukraine to discuss the next steps after the taking the town of Avdiivka, state media reported on Wednesday.

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russian troops would push further into Ukraine to build on their success on the battlefield after the fall of the town of Avdiivka where he said Ukrainian troops had been forced to flee in chaos.

Gerasimov was shown awarding medals to Russian troops involved in taking Avdiivka and he was given a report by the commander in charge of the Russian assault on Avdiivka, Colonel-General Andrei Mordvichev, state media said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CNN that Avdiivka would not have fallen had Kyiv received weapons held up by the US Congress' failure to approve a large aid package.

After the failure of Ukraine to pierce Russian front lines in the east and south last year, Moscow has been trying to grind down Ukrainian forces just as Kyiv ponders a major new mobilization.



Hegseth Says China’s Military Presence in Western Hemisphere Is ‘Too Large’

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends the Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC25), organized by Panama and the US Southern Command, in Panama City on April 9, 2025. (AFP)
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends the Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC25), organized by Panama and the US Southern Command, in Panama City on April 9, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Hegseth Says China’s Military Presence in Western Hemisphere Is ‘Too Large’

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends the Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC25), organized by Panama and the US Southern Command, in Panama City on April 9, 2025. (AFP)
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends the Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC25), organized by Panama and the US Southern Command, in Panama City on April 9, 2025. (AFP)

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday focused again on China's presence in the Western Hemisphere, one day after calling the world power a threat to the Panama Canal.

Speaking at a regional security conference, Hegseth said that China-based companies were controlling land and critical infrastructure in strategic sectors.

“China’s military has too large of a presence in the Western Hemisphere,” Hegseth said. “Make no mistake, Beijing is investing and operating in this region for military advantage and unfair economic gain.”

He called on the region’s governments to work together to deter China and address threats posed by transnational drug cartels and mass immigration.

Hegseth was speaking a day after meeting Panama's President José Raúl Mulino and touring the Panama Canal. The two countries agreed to step up security coordination and appeared to say they would work toward a way to pay back fees that US warships pay to pass through the Panama Canal.

The visit comes amid tensions over US President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that the US is being overcharged to use the Panama Canal and that China has influence over its operations — allegations that Panama has denied.

Shortly after Hegseth and Mulino met, the Chinese Embassy in Panama criticized the US government in a statement on X, saying Washington had used “blackmail” to further its own interests and that who Panama carries out business with is a “sovereign decision of Panama ... and something the US doesn’t have the right to interfere in.”

The concern about China's influence over the waterway was provoked by Hong Kong-based consortium CK Hutchison holding a 25-year lease on ports at either end of the canal. The Panamanian government announced that lease was being audited and late Monday concluded that there were irregularities, which CK Hutchison denied in a statement Wednesday.

CK Hutchison has already announced that it would be selling its controlling stake in the ports to a consortium including BlackRock Inc., effectively putting the ports under American control once the sale is complete.