Putin Visits Generals Leading Ukraine Offensive In South Russia
By AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the commander of Moscow’s Ukraine offensive in an army HQ in the southern Russia city of Rostov-on-Don, the Kremlin said early Saturday.
The Russian leader met the generals after the US approved the transfer of Dutch and Danish F-16s to Kyiv.
“Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the headquarters of the special military operation group in Rostov-on-Don,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“The head of state listened to briefings by the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, commanders of directions and other senior officers of the group.”
The RIA Novosti news agency published a video of the Russian leader, wearing a suit, stepping out of a jeep in the dark and being greeted by Gerasimov, in military attire, with a handshake.
It also showed Putin chairing a meeting with high ranking army chiefs.
Rostov-on-Don — a city in southern Russia close to Ukraine — has become an operational hub for Russian forces in Ukraine.
It was also the scene of a dramatic armed mutiny by Wagner mercenaries in June, which saw them briefly take over the army HQ in Rostov, before halting their rebellion.
Gerasimov, who Wagner wanted to unseat, has been rarely seen in public since.
Putin rarely travels to areas near the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
