Russia and Ukraine continued to trade fire on Thursday as peace talks between the two sides have been set to be held in Istanbul, capital of Türkiye amid lingering differences.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Thursday that the Russian forces had taken control of two more settlements from Ukraine and struck targets including Ukrainian military airfield infrastructure, ammunition depots, and temporary deployment points.
Russian air defense units shot down over 100 Ukrainian drones and intercepted several aerial bombs, the ministry said.
In addition, the Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian unmanned boat in the Black Sea, it said.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that as of Thursday afternoon, dozens of clashes had occurred between Ukrainian and Russian forces along the front lines, with the fiercest fighting taking place in the Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka.
The Ukrainian forces repelled multiple Russian attacks, the Ukrainian side said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that a Ukrainian delegation will attend the peace talks in Istanbul with a commitment to ending the conflict with Russia, though he would not personally show up at the negotiating table.
Also on Thursday, Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation and senior aide to President Vladimir Putin, said that his team has the necessary competencies to conduct negotiations and will focus on "finding possible solutions" and common ground through a constructive approach.
Russia, Ukraine continue to trade fire amid planned peace talks in Türkiye
China's smart consumer device manufacturing sector has seen rapid growth this year, fueled by a government-backed trade-in program and the expansion of diversified consumption scenarios.
From January to May, the country's electronic information manufacturing industry maintained strong momentum, with total revenue of enterprises above the designated size reaching 6.49 trillion yuan (some 900 billion U.S. dollars), up 9.4 percent year on year.
Production of electronic consumer goods recorded steady increases. Over 140 million computers were produced during the period, up 8 percent from a year earlier, while 14.04 million television units rolled off assembly lines, up 1.7 percent year on year.
"Consumption scenarios are becoming more diversified. On the demand side, new smart products are quickly entering the market, opening up emerging markets in home services, health management, and beyond. On the supply side, the industry is clearly moving toward transformation and upgrading, with new growth drivers accelerating," said Zuo Kairui, director of the Industry Development Department of the Institute of Policy and Economics at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, China plans to go on promoting its "AI plus consumer goods" initiative, encouraging the development and application of new technologies such as smart wearables, ultra-high-definition video, brain-computer interfaces, and robotics.
Meanwhile, authorities will continue to foster high-growth consumer sectors and guide the smart device industry toward greener, more service-oriented development.
China's smart consumer device industry sees rapid growth amid policy boost