Your Thursday briefing

Taiwanese devices for Chinese exercises.

Hello. We cover China's live-fire exercises near Taiwan and an impending Russian offensive in southern Ukraine.

ImageA news broadcast in Beijing showed where China will hold military exercises off Taiwan.Credit.. .Thomas Peter/Reuters s< /figure>Taiwan prepares for Chinese e drills

Taiwan prepares for China to begin three days of live-fire military drills today after a high-profile visit on the island of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

China, which claims Taiwan as its own, called the drills a Warning. This presented them as punishment for Pelosi's visit and as a deterrent against opponents of Beijing's claims to the self-governing island.

But they can also use on a trial basis. China's military buildup has reached a point where some military commanders and analysts believe an invasion is an increasingly plausible scenario, though still very risky.

The six exercise areas that the People's Liberation Army marked out in the seas off Taiwan - a nudge less than 10 miles (about 16 kilometers) off its southern coast - could give its forces valuable training, should they ever be ordered to surround and attack the island.