Harbin

The offensive in northeastern Ukraine is a response to Ukrainian strikes in Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated during his visit to China, according to world news agencies.

Putin assured that Moscow currently has no plans to capture the major Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the enduring bond between Russia and China during the final day of his two-day visit to China, as reported by state news agency TASS. Putin emphasized the deep-rooted connection between the Russian and Chinese people, referring to them as "brothers forever."

Russian leader Vladimir Putin was in the northeastern city of Harbin on Friday, the final day of a visit aiming to promote crucial trade with China and win greater support for his war effort in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Beijing's "genuine desire" to help resolve the Ukraine crisis, in an interview with Chinese state media published Wednesday ahead of a two-day visit to the country.

Putin arrives in Beijing on Thursday to meet his "dear friend" Xi Jinping, seeking to win greater support from China for his war effort in Ukraine and isolated economy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China this week and meet with leader Xi Jinping, the two countries announced Tuesday.

Putin will be in Beijing from Thursday to Friday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement, the Russian leader's first trip abroad since his March re-election and his second in just over six months to China.

Türkiye should attract more investments and tourists from China to address the trade imbalance between the two countries, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has said.

A Chinese province of more than 37 million declared an "emergency state" on Jan. 13 to snuff out a handful of COVID-19 cases, as the country moved decisively to contain infections.

China had largely brought the coronavirus under control since its emergence in Wuhan late in 2019.

The city of Harbin is blocked.

The northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, with a population of 10 million, is the largest coronavirus outbreak in the country right now, according to the Daily Mail. Since Wednesday, authorities have taken strict measures to curb the infection.

The number of Chinese tourists during the winter season 2018/2019 reached 224 million, with winter tourism maintaining a trend of intense growth.

Record low temperatures were measured in Northeast China, TASS reported, citing the National Meteorological Service. Heilongjiang's thermometers showed 44.5 degrees below zero Celsius tonight - a negative record for this winter.