The Russian president arrived in Rostov-on-Don to be briefed on the campaign against Kiev’s troops, the Kremlin said
President Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit on Thursday to the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District, which oversees the military operation against Ukraine, and held a closed-door meeting with high-ranking commanders.
Speaking to reporters early on Friday, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov revealed that Putin arrived in Rostov-on-Don while on his way back from Perm, central Russia, where he attended a major national sports forum on Thursday.
According to the spokesman, the president met with Army General Valery Gerasimov, the head of the General Staff, who briefed him on the progress of the country’s military operation against Kiev. In addition, Putin also spoke with other top defense officials, Peskov said, without specifying the details.
Several Russian outlets released a video showing Putin disembarking from his plane in Rostov-on-Don. After arriving at the HQ, he was greeted by Gerasimov, who said that the “joint group of forces [in Ukraine] is carrying out missions in accordance with the plan of the operation.”
Putin’s last visit and meeting with the top brass at the Rostov-on-Don HQ took place in August and, before that, in March. The Rostov Region borders Russia’s frontline Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and has come under Ukrainian missile and drone attacks in recent months.
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The Russian president’s meeting with the military commanders also came amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive underway since June. Earlier this month, Putin said that Kiev had failed to achieve any results and suffered “enormous” losses at a ratio of eight to one. Earlier this month, he estimated Kiev’s frontline casualties at more than 90,000 troops since the start of the push.
