Xi'an sees over 5,000 Europe-, Central Asia-bound freight trains in Jan-Oct

Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, has handled over 5,000 freight trains bound for Central Asia and Europe in the first 10 months of 2025, data from China State Railway Group Co. showed on Monday.

From January to October, Xi'an saw 5,063 freight train departures, up 16.3 percent year on year.

It marked a same-period record in the number of freight train departures from Xi'an, since the city launched the first China-Europe freight rail service in 2013 as a key part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Of the total departures, 3,917 trains were bound for Europe and 1,146 for Central Asia. The cumulative freight volume reached 5.564 million tonnes, up 12.9 percent year on year, while 505,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers were delivered, marking an increase of 10.5 percent compared with the same period last year.

Xi'an sees over 5,000 Europe-, Central Asia-bound freight trains in Jan-Oct

Russian forces carried out a "massive strike" on Ukraine's military-industrial complex, energy facilities and port infrastructure, the Russian defense ministry said Saturday.

The strike was in response to Ukraine's overnight attacks on Russia's civilian objects, said the ministry, adding that the strike involved long-range high-precision air- and ground-based weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier in the day that rescue efforts were underway in numerous regions following Russia's attacks.

Zelensky said Russia launched over 650 drones and 51 missiles targeting multiple regions, with injuries reported. He added that the main targets were energy facilities.

Russia conducts massive raids on Ukraine's military-industrial, energy, port facilities