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)
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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.



China Urges US to ‘Correct Mistakes’ After State Department Website Drops Taiwan Independence Reference 

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun gestures during a press conference in Beijing, China, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun gestures during a press conference in Beijing, China, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
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China Urges US to ‘Correct Mistakes’ After State Department Website Drops Taiwan Independence Reference 

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun gestures during a press conference in Beijing, China, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun gestures during a press conference in Beijing, China, 17 February 2025. (EPA)

China on Monday urged the United States to "correct its mistakes" after the US State Department removed previous wording on its website about not supporting Taiwan independence, which it said was part of a routine update.

The fact sheet on Taiwan, updated last week, retains Washington's opposition to unilateral change from either Taiwan or from China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own.

But as well as dropping the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence", the page added a reference to Taiwan's cooperation with a Pentagon technology and semiconductor development project and says the US will support Taiwan's membership in international organizations "where applicable".

Beijing regularly denounces any international recognition of Taiwan or contact between Taiwanese and foreign officials, viewing it as encouraging Taiwan's separate status from China.

The update to the website came roughly three weeks after US President Donald Trump was sworn in to his second term in the White House.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the revisions for Taiwan on the US State Department's website were a big step backwards and "sends a seriously wrong message to Taiwan independence separatist forces".

"This is yet another example of the United States' stubborn adherence to the erroneous policy of 'using Taiwan to suppress China'. We urge the United States side to immediately rectify its mistakes," Guo said.

The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer, bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

"As is routine, the fact sheet was updated to inform the general public about our unofficial relationship with Taiwan," a State Department spokesperson said in an email sent late Sunday Taiwan time responding to questions on the updated website wording.

"The United States remains committed to its one China policy," the spokesperson said, referring to Washington officially taking no position on Taiwan's sovereignty and only acknowledging China's position on the subject.

"The United States is committed to preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," the spokesperson said.

"We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We support cross-Strait dialogue, and we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to people on both sides of the Strait."

On Sunday, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung expressed his appreciation for what he called the "support and positive stance on US-Taiwan relations".

Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying that only the island's people can decide their future.

Taiwan says it is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name. The Republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, who set up the People's Republic of China.