Russia’s defense minister visits frontline command post

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has inspected a forward command post of the ‘West’ grouping of forces taking part in the country’s military operation, the Defense Ministry said on Monday.

During the visit, Shoigu heard a report from the commander of the grouping, Colonel General Evgeny Nikiforov, on the situation on the frontline, maneuvers performed by the Ukrainian side, and the operational tasks carried out by the Russian military, the ministry said in a statement.

Nikiforov also told the minister about the preparation of new reserve regiments for the ‘West’ grouping and their combat coordination, it added.

Shoigu noted the high effectiveness of the Russian forces operating in and near Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, the statement read. He also said special attention should be paid to ensuring that Russian troops are provided with everything they need, and are safely accommodated.

According to the Defense Ministry, the leadership of the ‘West’ grouping was “tasked with continuing active reconnaissance in order to reveal the enemy’s plans in advance, and prevent their implementation of distant approaches to the line of contact.”

The ministry also published a video, showing Shoigu and Nikiforov flying above the area in a helicopter and the minister talking to the commander, and being shown maps at the command post.

Earlier this month, Ukraine launched its long-anticipated counteroffensive along the frontline, but according to Moscow, it has so far failed to achieve any significant advances. Kiev has claimed the capture of several small villages, which appear to be far away from Russia’s main defensive lines.

During a Russian Security Council meeting last week, chaired by President Vladimir Putin and attended by Shoigu and other top security officials, it was announced that between June 4 and June 21 Ukraine had lost 246 tanks, including 13 of those supplied by the West, 152 infantry fighting vehicles, and more than 13,000 troops.