Russian Defence Ministry posts video of Russia's General Staff chief supposedly visiting war zone in Ukraine

The Russian Defence Ministry has claimed that Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, supposedly visited the command post of the 58th Combined Arms Army in the combat zone in Ukraine on 26 February, two days after the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Source: Russian Ministry of Defence on Telegram

Quote: "Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and First Deputy Minister of Defence, has visited the command post of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District in the area of the special military operation [as Russian propaganda calls the war against Ukraine – ed.]."

Details: Gerasimov allegedly visited the command post, where he heard a report from the commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army on the situation in his area of responsibility and his further actions.

The chief of the Russian General Staff also decorated some soldiers.

Based on the video, it is unclear where Gerasimov was and whether he was at the front at all: the Russian general was first filmed in a plane and then inside a nondescript building.

Notably, Russian officials and state-run media have refrained from commenting on the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that the reason behind this was to avoid drawing attention to Russia's failure to achieve its stated "strategic goals" in Ukraine and its lesser goals of capturing the entire Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, as well as to the tremendous losses among Russian forces.

Support UP or become our patron!