China has completed a prototype extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine in a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, marking a major milestone in its drive for semiconductor independence through a state-led 'Manhattan Project-style' initiative.

The machine, operational since early 2025 and now undergoing testing, was built by a team of former ASML(Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography) Holding engineers like Lin Nan, who filed key patents. They reverse-engineered the Dutch company’s technology, using parts from older ASML systems and secondary markets to circumvent Western export controls.

While the prototype successfully generates EUV light, it has not yet produced functional chips, with analysts estimating a realistic timeline for working chip production between 2030 and 2035, despite an official government target of 2028.

The project, launched as a six-year national effort under President Xi Jinping’s strategic priorities, is coordinated by Huawei and overseen by Ding Xuexiang, a close confidant of Xi and head of the Central Science and Technology Commission.

Former ASML engineers were recruited with substantial incentives, including signing bonuses of up to $700,000, and worked under aliases with false identification cards to maintain secrecy.

The prototype occupies nearly an entire factory floor and is operated within a highly isolated, secure compound where staff often sleep on-site, with strict communication restrictions and surveillance.

Despite ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet’s public statements in 2024 and 2025 that China would need "many, many years" to develop EUV capability, the existence of the prototype suggests Beijing’s timeline may be accelerating significantly.

While the Chinese machine’s light generation is confirmed, major technical hurdles remain, particularly in replicating the precision optical systems—such as specialized mirrors from Germany’s Zeiss—that are critical for high-volume, reliable chip manufacturing.

The breakthrough challenges long-standing U.S.-led export controls that have barred China from acquiring advanced EUV systems since 2018, with the Biden administration expanding restrictions in 2022.

The ultimate goal, as stated by sources, is to produce advanced chips on entirely China-made machines and to fully remove U.S. influence from its semiconductor supply chains.

Advanced chip manufacturing machine generates extreme ultraviolet light to etch tiny circuits for AI, smartphones, and military systems—tech once monopolized by ASML

A senior Russian military officer, Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff, was killed on Monday, in a car bomb explosion in Moscow's Yasenevo district.

The blast, which occurred at approximately 06:55 Moscow time as Sarvarov was leaving a parking space in his Kia Sorento, resulted in his death from severe injuries, including multiple shrapnel wounds and a fractured facial bone.

The explosive device was placed under the chassis of Sarvarov’s vehicle, detonating as he was driving. The blast caused severe damage to the car, with one door blown off and blood visible on the driver’s seat; the vehicle was described as mangled and charred. Seven other cars were also damaged in the explosion. Witnesses reported a loud bang, initially mistaking it for a downed drone, with no fire observed.

The Russian Investigative Committee confirmed the death and stated that forensic examinations, witness interviews, and surveillance footage reviews are underway. The Kremlin confirmed that President Vladimir Putin was immediately informed of the incident.

Investigators have opened a criminal case under articles 105 and 222.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (murder committed by a particularly dangerous method; illegal handling of explosives) and are pursuing multiple lines of inquiry, including the possibility that the attack was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services.

Sarvarov, 56, had served as head of the Operational Training Directorate for nine years, overseeing combat training and readiness for Russia’s armed forces during the war in Ukraine. He had extensive military experience, including participation in Russia’s campaigns in Chechnya during the 1990s and in Syria, where Russian forces supported the Assad regime.

Russia has previously blamed Ukraine for similar assassinations of senior military figures, including Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov (killed in a scooter bomb attack in 2024) and Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik (killed in a car bomb in April 2025).

Ukraine has not yet commented on the killing, despite having claimed responsibility for previous attacks on Russian military personnel. The attack marks the third such killing of a senior Russian military officer in just over a year, highlighting a pattern of targeted assassinations in Moscow; as President Donald Trump's envoy hold talks with Ukrainian officials in Miami, Florida, to discuss the U.S-proposed peace plan to end the Russia-ukraine war.