Reuters | , by Shobhit Gupta
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a rare visit to Russia’s military stationed in Ukraine, his ministry said on Saturday.
Russia’s top military chiefs have only visited the front line in Ukraine since a year ago tens of thousands of Russian troops invaded the neighboring country, in what Moscow calls a “special military operation”.
“Army General Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, inspected the forward command post of one of the formations of the Eastern Military District in the South Donetsk direction,” his ministry said in a statement published on the messaging app Telegram. ,
In a video released by the ministry, Shoigu is seen presenting medals to Russian military personnel and touring a ruined city with the district’s commander, Colonel-General Rustam Muradov.
Shoigu, who has served as defense minister since 2012, has drawn strong criticism over his performance in the conflict from pro-war advocates.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group mercenaries whose militia has played a key role in Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, last month accused Shoigu and others of “treason” after he refused to supply ammunition to his militia. supply was stopped.
