The 15th Chinese peacekeeping contingent to South Sudan (Wau) passed the UN equipment inspection on Thursday with all its equipment cleared by the UN standards.
The UN inspection team carried out an all-element and all-round inspection, focusing on weapons and ammunition, vehicle equipment and medical facilities.
The inspection aimed to examine if the major equipment and self-sustainment capabilities of the peacekeepers meet the UN requirements. Its outcome is also a reference for providing peace-keeping facilities and issuing economic compensation to the country fulfilling peacekeeping mission.
The 15th contingent, consisting of an engineering detachment and a medical detachment, was deployed to the South Sudan (Wau) mission area in December 2024.
The engineering detachment performs duties of constructing roads, building protective shelters, and providing engineering support to various peacekeeping forces in the mission area. The medical detachment is to provide basic medical services in the mission area, deal with common illness and contagious diseases, and offer humanitarian aid.
Chinese peacekeepers in South Sudan pass UN equipment inspection
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia is fully prepared and willing to negotiate with Ukraine at a U.S. military facility in Anchorage, Alaska, while his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a face-to-face meeting.
At a meeting with heads of major international news agencies attending the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said Russia remains prepared to pursue a negotiated settlement based on a framework discussed with U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting in Anchorage in August 2025.
He said Russia is ready to accept the compromises discussed at the meeting and expressed hope that the Ukrainian side would also agree to them.
Ukraine has previously rejected the Anchorage framework, as it calls for Ukraine to cede territory.
Meanwhile, Putin said Russian troops are advancing along the entire line of contact and have taken complete control of the Luhansk region, 85 percent of the Donetsk region and 80 percent of the Zaporizhzhia region.
Russia's Presidential Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev said at the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday that despite efforts by forces seeking to prolong the war to disrupt talks between Russia and the U.S., bilateral engagement on Ukraine has made substantive progress.
Dmitriev dismissed reports that Russia-U.S. contacts have stalled, accusing other European nations of spreading disinformation to hinder the peace process.
Dmitriev also said that on Wednesday he had spoken by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and discussed bilateral economic cooperation.
He said the U.S. side had underscored the need to embrace peace rather than engage in constant provocations and confrontations.
The U.S. has been pushing for peace and Ukraine should join the process, Dmitriev noted, adding there were plans for further contacts with Witkoff and Kushner next week.
Later on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published an open letter to Putin, proposing to end the conflict through direct talks between the two leaders.
Relevant parties, including European countries and the U.S., should be part of the peace negotiations, the letter stated.
Ukraine is ready for a complete ceasefire during the talks and proposes an exchange of prisoners of war on the principle of "all for all," Zelensky also said in the letter.
Russia ready to talk with Ukraine at U.S. military base: Putin
Russia ready to talk with Ukraine at U.S. military base: Putin
