Ukraine's Top General, Defense Minister Visit Posts Near Front Line

FILE PHOTO: Colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, attends an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, attends an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
TT

Ukraine's Top General, Defense Minister Visit Posts Near Front Line

FILE PHOTO: Colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, attends an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, attends an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov visited command posts near the front line to analyze the battlefield and boost defenses, the top general said on Sunday.
Kyiv's military is struggling to stave off Russian forces along the sprawling front line as Moscow's full-scale invasion passes its two-year mark.
"We analyzed the current situation in detail and discussed the necessary further steps, primarily the protection of troops from drones and strikes by aerial bombs as well as the strengthening of certain areas of the front," Syrskyi posted on Telegram along with images of himself and Umerov meeting commanders.
Syrskyi, who did not say when the visit took place, added that "the situation is complex and requires constant monitoring".
Russian forces last week captured the strategic eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka after a months-long assault and are pressing on several other areas along the front line, Ukrainian authorities say.

Kyiv's strategic industries minister said on Sunday Ukraine tripled its weapons production last year and 500 companies are now working in the country's defense sector.

Oleksandr Kamyshin said during a televised address that the figure included 100 state and 400 private companies and that Ukraine this year plans "to considerably increase ammunition production."

Ukraine also announced Sunday destroying 16 out of 18 attack drones launched overnight by Russia.

The air force said the Iranian-made drones had been shot down over eight regions across central, western and southern Ukraine, including the capital region.



China’s Foreign Minister Warns Philippines over US Missile Deployment

 China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

China’s Foreign Minister Warns Philippines over US Missile Deployment

 China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned the Philippines over the US intermediate-range missile deployment, saying such a move could fuel regional tensions and spark an arms race.

The United States deployed its Typhon missile system to the Philippines as part of joint military drills earlier this year. It was not fired during the exercises, a Philippine military official later said, without giving details on how long it would stay in the country.

China-Philippines relations are now at a crossroads and dialogue and consultation are the right way, Wang told the Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo on Friday during a meeting in Vientiane, the capital of Laos where top diplomats of world powers have gathered ahead of two summits.

Wang said relations between the countries are facing challenges because the Philippines has "repeatedly violated the consensus of both sides and its own commitments", according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

"If the Philippines introduces the US intermediate-range missile system, it will create tension and confrontation in the region and trigger an arms race, which is completely not in line with the interests and wishes of the Filipino people," Wang said.

The Philippines' military and its foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wang's remarks.

China and the Philippines are locked in a confrontation in the South China Sea and their encounters have grown more tense as Beijing presses its claims to disputed shoals in waters within Manila's its exclusive economic zone.

Wang said China has recently reached a temporary arrangement with the Philippines on the transportation and replenishment of humanitarian supplies to Ren'ai Jiao in order to maintain the stability of the maritime situation, referring to the Second Thomas Shoal.

Philippine vessels on Saturday successfully completed their latest mission to the shoal unimpeded, its foreign ministry said in a statement.