Russia’s defense minister visits military bases in Ukraine

Moscow, Dec 18 (EFE).- Russia’s defense minister Sergei Shoigu on Sunday flew to Ukraine by helicopter to visit Russian military positions, officials said.

“Defense minister of the Russian Federation Army General Sergei Shoigu made a working trip to the Southern Military District and inspected the group of troops in the areas of the special military operation,” the defense ministry said in a statement.

Shoigu spoke with Russian soldiers, listened to the reports of the commanders and thanked them for “the exemplary performance of combat missions,” according to the ministry.

Back on the frontline, Russian troops captured another town during their offensive on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.

In his daily report, Russian defense ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said forces are currently dealing with “the remnants of Ukrainian troops” in the town of Yakovlivka.

Konashenkov said that Ukrainians had tried to retake control of the lost positions but failed.

Earlier, Moscow confirmed the offensive on the towns of Kurdiumivka and Ozarianivka in the southern part of Bakhmut, backed, according to Kyiv, by a big number of ex-convicts.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who recently visited troops in Donetsk, accused Moscow of turning Bakhmut into “burnt ruins.”EFE

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