Russia said on Wednesday that its troops had controlled the settlement of Novoyelizavetovka in Donetsk, while Ukraine said it repelled several Russian offensives in the Kursk Region in the past day.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that Russian servicemen raised the Russian flag over the settlement of Novoyelizavetovka in Donetsk in the past day, and attacked Ukrainian troops and equipment on multiple battle lines.
The Ukrainian armed forces lost over 420 soldiers in the Kursk Region over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Front line commanders said on Wednesday that Russian servicemen had controlled most areas of Ukraine's Chasov Yar city.
On the same day, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported 91 battles at the front lines over the past day, noting that missile and artillery forces hit Russia targets including ammunition depots and personnel. The General Staff said Ukrainian forces repelled several Russian offensives in the Kursk Region.
The Ukrainian national news agency Ukrinform reported on Wednesday that Ukrainian drone attacks targeted a warehouse storing missiles, guided bombs and artillery ammunition in Russia's Tver Region, as well as the Andreapol oil pumping station in the village of Erokhino.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has shown obvious changes, with the Russian army claiming progresses in several directions, and the Ukrainian troops taking a defensive posture and withdrawing from several strategic points.
Russia controls Donetsk settlement, Ukraine repels Russian offensives in Kursk
The Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul has assisted a group of tourists from the Taiwan region to return home, after they were stranded in Türkiye due to the escalating tensions in the Middle East.
After being stranded for about five days, the 93 Taiwan compatriots started to board China Eastern Airlines’ flights to Shanghai in batches.
This group of Taiwan compatriots were from three Middle Eastern tour groups arranged by the same travel agency in Taiwan.
They had originally planned to return to Taipei via Abu Dhabi, UAE, after their Istanbul trip. However, following the US-Israel military strikes against Iran on Feb 28, many Middle Eastern countries closed their airspace, leading to the cancellation of numerous flights.
"To be honest, I've never encountered this situation in my entire life," said one of the Taiwan compatriots.
"My teacher kept calling to ask when I'd be back because I was constantly revising my leave application, they thought I was missing," said another.
During their stay, the group members changed their tickets at least four times, but the flight schedules all showed indefinite delays, causing them great anxiety.
"In the past few days, we've seen news from the mainland saying they can help us by sending planes to expedite our return," said another tourist from Taiwan.
"These Taiwan compatriots contacted our Consulate General in Istanbul through the consular protection hotline. Our consulate leadership attached great importance to this situation and immediately coordinated with relevant domestic departments, including immigration and border control, as well as airlines, to coordinate getting them on board," said Sui Kaige, director of Consular Affairs Section at the Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul.
"We also provide Taiwan compatriots with assurances on flight seats to meet their needs," said Li Ge, general manager of China Eastern Airlines' Istanbul office.
Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul assists stranded Taiwan compatriots to return home
