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world news Diabierna 29 Juli 2022

A richer, stronger China warns Pelosi not to visit Taiwan

(AP) — Beijing grumbled whether she might visit, but
but swallowed its irrita- Beijing is warning of “force-
tion in 1997 when then- ful measures” including mili-
Speaker Newt Gingrich of tary action if she does.
the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives visited Taiwan, The United States “must not
the island democracy arrange for Pelosi to visit Tai-
claimed by the mainland’s wan,” a Chinese Ministry of
ruling Communist Party Defense spokesman, Tan Ke-
as its own territory. fei, said Tuesday.

China had other priorities. “If the United States goes
President Jiang Zemin’s gov- ahead with this, the Chinese
ernment was preparing to military will never watch and
celebrate Hong Kong’s return do nothing,” Tan said. “It
and wanted to lock in Bei- will take strong measures to
jing’s emergence from diplo- thwart any external interfer-
matic isolation after its 1989 ence and separatist plans for
crackdown on pro-democ- ‘Taiwan independence’ and
racy demonstrations in Ti- resolutely defend national
ananmen Square. Gingrich, sovereignty and territorial in-
a booster of closer U.S.-Chi- tegrity.”
nese ties, had just helped that
campaign by meeting Jiang Tan referred to Pelosi as “No.
in Beijing. China avoided a 3 in the U.S. government,”
disruptive clash with Wash- over Taiwan following news nition of its democratically third five-year term as party after her place in the line of
ington. reports the current speaker, elected government, which leader at a meeting in the au- succession to become presi-
Nancy Pelosi, might become the mainland says has no tumn. That could be under- dent. That suggests Beijing
A quarter-century later, con- the most senior U.S. official right to conduct foreign rela- cut if rivals can accuse Xi of sees her as President Joe
ditions have changed drasti- since Gingrich to visit the is- tions. failing to be tough enough in Biden’s subordinate, instead
cally. Chinese President Xi land. the face of what they consider of his equal as head of one of
Jinping’s government is rich- The timing adds to political American provocation. three independent branches
er, more heavily armed and Beijing sees any official con- pressure. Xi is widely expect- of the government.
less willing to compromise tact with Taiwan as recog- ed to try to award himself a Pelosi has yet to confirm

Russia attacks Kyiv area for the first time in weeks

(AP) — Russian forces them civilians, Kyiv regional forces to “liberate Russian Ukrainian media quoted Western-supplied long-range
launched a missile at- Gov. Oleksiy Kuleba said. cities founded by the Russian Ukrainian presidential advis- artillery to damage at least
tack on the Kyiv area for Kuleba linked the assaults to people — Kyiv, Chernihiv, er Oleksiy Arestovich as say- three of the bridges across the
the first time in weeks the Day of Statehood, a com- Poltava, Odesa, Dniprop- ing the operation to liberate Dnieper that Russia relies on
Thursday and pounded memoration that President etrovsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizh- Kherson is underway, with to supply its forces.
the northern Chernihiv Volodymyr Zelenskyy insti- zhia, Lutsk.” Kyiv’s forces planning to iso-
region as well, in what tuted last year and Ukraine late Russian troops and leave Ukraine’s presidential of-
Ukraine said was revenge marked for the time on Elsewhere around the coun- them with three options — fice said Thursday morning
for standing up to the Thursday. try, five people were killed “retreat, if possible, surren- that Russian shelling of cities
Kremlin. and 25 wounded in a Russian der or be destroyed.” and villages over the past 24
“Russia, with the help of mis- rocket attack on the city of hours killed at least five civil-
Ukrainian officials, mean- siles, is mounting revenge for Kropvynytskyi, about 250 ki- Oleksiy Danilov, secretary ians, all of them in the east-
while, announced a coun- the widespread popular resis- lometers (150 miles) south- of Ukraine’s National Secu- ern Donetsk province, and
teroffensive to take back the tance, which the Ukrainians east of Kyiv, according to the rity and Defense Council, wounded nine.
occupied Kherson region in were able to organize pre- deputy governor of Ukraine’s said the Russians are con-
the country’s south, territory cisely because of their state- Kirovohrad region, Andriy centrating maximum forces Fighting in recent weeks has
seized by Russian President hood,” Kuleba told Ukrai- Raikovich. He said the attack in the direction of Kherson, focused on Donetsk prov-
Vladimir Putin’s forces early nian television. “Ukraine has hit hangars at an air academy, warning: “A very large-scale ince. It has intensified in re-
in the war. already broken Russia’s plans damaging civilian planes. movement of their troops has cent days as Russian forces
and will continue to defend begun.” appeared to emerge from a
Russia attacked the Kyiv itself.” Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second- reported “operational pause”
region with six missiles largest city, also came under a The British military said after capturing neighboring
launched from the Black Sea, Chernihiv regional Gov. Vy- barrage of shelling overnight, Ukraine has used its new, Luhansk province.
hitting a military unit in the acheslav Chaus reported that according to the mayor. Au-
village of Liutizh on the out- the Russians also fired mis- thorities said a police officer
skirts of the capital, according siles from the territory of was killed in Russian shell-
to Oleksii Hromov, a senior Belarus at the village of Hon- ing of a power plant in the
official with Ukraine’s Gen- charivska. The Chernihiv re- Kharkiv region.
eral Staff. gion had not been targeted in
weeks. The southern city of Myko-
He said that the attack ruined laiv was fired on as well, with
one building and damaged Russian troops withdrew one person reported injured.
two others, and that Ukrai- from the Kyiv and Cherni-
nian forces shot down one hiv regions months ago after Meanwhile, the Ukrainian
of the missiles in the town of failing to capture either. The military kept up a counterat-
Bucha. renewed strikes come a day tack in the Kherson region,
after the leader of pro-Krem- knocking out of commission
Fifteen people were wounded lin separatists in the east, De- a key bridge over the Dnieper
in the Russian strikes, five of nis Pushilin, urged Russian River on Wednesday.