Russia said on Thursday that it launched extensive attacks on the Ukrainian forces in 139 battlefields while Ukraine said it has been taking every measure to defend against the attacks of the Russian troops.
Over the past day, the air, missile, and artillery forces of Russia launched attacks on the Ukrainian troops and destroyed multiple assembly areas of military equipment in 139 battlefields, said the Russian Ministry of Defense, adding that its air defense forces shot down six U.S.-made HIMARS rockets and 77 drones.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a report that by Thursday afternoon, the Ukrainian forces had engaged in 101 battles taking places in regions including Kharkov, Kupiansk, Pokrovsk, and Kurakhove.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also said that its forces thwarted continuous attempts made by the Ukrainian troops to enter Russia's Kursk region. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the country's forces have been advancing on all sections of engagement.
With about 2,000 soldiers being besieged in Kursk region, the Ukrainian military said it has been taking every measure to counter the attacks of the Russian troops, adding that its operations in Kursk region continue.
Russia claims extensive attacks on Ukrainian forces, while Ukraine counters Russian assaults
China's grain output is projected to hit a record high of 700 billion kilograms this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Friday.
At a press conference in Beijing, Zhang Xingwang, vice minister of agriculture and rural affairs, made the remarks and reported that as of Thursday more than 80 percent of the autumn grain had been reaped across China.
"China will see another year with a bumper grain harvest. The summer grain and early rice had been harvested. The total output of summer grain this year stood at 149.78 billion kilograms, up 3.625 billion kilograms from the previous years, marking the highest increase in the past nine years. And the early rice output amounted to 28.175 billion kilograms, exceeding the threshold of 28 billion kilograms for four consecutive years. The planting area of autumn grain has seen steady growth, with significant improvements in increasing per unit crop yield on a large scale. As of Thursday, the progress of China's autumn grain harvest this year has reached 82.5 percent, marking another season of bountiful harvest. The country's annual grain production is expected to surpass 700 billion kilograms for the first time this year after having remain steady at over 650 billion kilograms for nine consecutive years. Notable progress was made in increasing the cultivation of soybeans and other oil crops. The soybean planting area maintained at over 10 million hectares and its output is expected to remain above 20 million tons. The planting area, per unit area yield and total output of rapeseed have all achieved increases," explained Zhang.
China's 2024 grain output expected to break record 700 billion kg
