Russia claims control of another settlement, Ukraine reports repelling Russian offensive

Russia claimed on Wednesday that its forces had taken control of another settlement, while Ukraine, on the same day, reported that its troops had repelled Russian offensives in multiple directions over the past 24 hours.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in its latest briefing that over the past 24 hours, Russian armed forces had attacked Ukrainian energy facilities that support the military-industrial complex, unmanned surface vehicle assembly workshops and drone launch sites.

The Russian army used Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile systems to strike a Ukrainian drone launch site east of Chernihivska in northern Ukraine, destroying 20 trucks loaded with 100 drones, according to the ministry.

Russian forces also took control of the settlement of Verbove in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on the same day that 155 combat engagements had been recorded on the front line over the past day.

Ukrainian forces repelled Russian assaults in multiple directions, the General Staff said, adding that Ukrainian air defense forces shot down or suppressed 44 Russian drones.

Ukrainian Air Force, missile and artillery forces attacked concentration areas of Russian personnel, weapons and military equipment, according to the General Staff.

Ukraine's energy ministry said on Wednesday that the Chernobyl station was experiencing a blackout following Russian attacks on energy infrastructure in the city of Slavutych in northern Ukraine.

Voltage fluctuations cut power to the safe confinement facility, which isolates the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl station destroyed in the 1986 nuclear disaster and prevents the release of radioactive substances into the environment, the ministry said, adding that technicians were working to restore power supply to the plant.

Ukrainian President's Office chief Andriy Yermak said on the day that Russian strikes on the Ukrainian energy system creates threats to not only Ukraine, but also the security of Europe, adding that such actions will not go unanswered.

Ukraine has responded and will continue to respond, he said.

Russia has not yet commented on the incident.

Russia claims control of another settlement, Ukraine reports repelling Russian offensive

Canada and China can achieve a win-win situation as the two economies are structurally complementary, said a think-tank expert in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Saturday.

Paul Samson, president of the Center for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), an independent, non-partisan think-tank on global governance based in Canada, said despite that there are also some irritants in the Canada-China relations, he believes that the strategic dialogue between the two countries can solve the problems.

"The two economies are complementary structurally. They complement each other -- natural resources, energy, finished products. There's an easy win-win space there for Canada and China. We have some irritants, as well, that I think the strategic dialogue can start solving as well," he said.

Samson also said that he believes the government of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will roll back some of the tariffs imposed by Canada, which is in the interest of the country.

"The Carney government has the guts and the desire to do what's in Canada's interest. I think they will be willing to roll back tariffs. Right now, we've got tariffs imposed on Canadian goods from the United States and we have them imposed by China. Canada has got to find a way to negotiate with both simultaneously," he said.

Carney, who was on an official visit to China from Wednesday through Saturday, said on Friday that his visit to China had been "historic and productive" and that the two sides had made significant progress in several key areas, underscoring the importance of trade ties between the two countries.

China and Canada have reached specific arrangements to properly address trade issues related to electric vehicles, steel and aluminum products, canola, and agricultural and aquatic products, China's Commerce Ministry said on Friday.

The two sides have also reached positive consensus on increasing direct flights, improving the business environment, and inspection and quarantine of agricultural products, it said.

Canada, China can achieve win-win situation: think-tank expert