Japanese people are expressing their support and hopes for the success of their national team athletes at the upcoming 9th Asian Winter Games which will officially open in Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang in northeast China, on Friday evening.
The Asian Winter Games this year will gather athletes representing 34 countries and regions across Asia. Japan is sending a delegation of 228 members, including 151 athletes, who will compete in short track speed skating, figure skating, ice hockey, curling and others.
"Curling and figure skating are more popular in Japan, so I especially hope that the athletes in these two events will do their best," said a resident of Tokyo.
"I'm fond of curling all the time. I want to tell athletes to go for victory," said another Tokyo resident. "I hope the athletes could grab gold medals this time and inspire children around the world to become interested in sports like skiing. I hope Japan could bring up more athletes who are able to snatch gold medals," said another resident.
Japanese expect athletes to excel at Asian Winter Games
Japanese expect athletes to excel at Asian Winter Games
Russia said on Thursday that its forces had taken control of a settlement in Ukraine, while Ukraine reported an attack on a Russian patrol ship.
In its latest report on Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces struck 142 areas over the past day, targeting Ukrainian long-range drone storage and launch sites, energy and transportation infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces, and temporary deployment points of the Ukrainian armed forces and foreign mercenaries.
Russian air defense systems reportedly shot down 601 fixed-wing drones. Additionally, Russian forces gained control of a settlement in the Zaporizhzhia region.
On the same day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported 279 clashes along the front lines in the past 24 hours, claiming to have shot down 2,111 Russian drones.
In a separate statement on Thursday, Ukraine's unmanned systems force confirmed an attack on a Russian patrol vessel in the waters near Crimea.
Additionally, the surrounding areas of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, one of the largest nuclear facilities in Europe, suffered a "massive attack" by Ukrainian heavy drones on Thursday. Targets included the Zaporizhzhia thermal power plant, which is critical for powering the nuclear facility’s only remaining external power line.
Despite the assaults, the nuclear plant is reportedly operating normally with no abnormalities in safety parameters. As of now, the Ukrainian side has not commented on these developments.
.
Russia claims controls of Ukrainian settlement, while Ukraine says Russian patrol ship hit
