MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin visited the headquarters of Russian forces in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don late on Thursday to hear a report on the progress of operations in Ukraine, state television reported on Friday.
It showed General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff and commander of the war in Ukraine, telling Putin that the troops are “carrying out their tasks in line with the operation plan”.
Putin said this week that the counteroffensive by the Ukrainian forces had “completely failed” and Ukraine’s Western backers were less hawkish than before.
Senior Ukrainian military officials said on Thursday their troops were facing a new Russian onslaught in the largely destroyed eastern city of Avdiivka, while making some progress on their counteroffensive in the south.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Christina Fincher)
