Russian defense minister visits frontline
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has conducted a personal visit to the zone of the ongoing military operation against Ukraine, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced on its Telegram channel on Thursday.
Shoigu inspected the conditions of Russia’s forces and military equipment at deployment points and held talks with unit commanders, paying special attention to how support for the soldiers was being organized in the field.
The minister also inspected the medical units and reviewed the accommodations of the personnel, as well as how they were being provided with food and heating, the ministry noted.
At the end of his visit, Shoigu personally gave the servicemen his New Year’s wishes and thanked them for their exemplary service and efforts in carrying out Russia’s objectives in the operation.
On Wednesday, the minister suggested a number of changes to Russia’s armed forces in order to improve the nation’s defensive capabilities. Among them was raising the minimum and maximum draft ages and expanding the army to a total of 1.5 million active servicemen, 695,000 of which would be contract soldiers.
He explained that the need to revamp certain aspects of the military comes as NATO has bolstered its forces on the Russian border and is looking to include new members such as Sweden and Finland. The minister proposed creating a special military unit in the country’s northwest in response to this potential threat.
