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MOSCOW: Russia’s army chief Valery Gerasimov has visited frontline troops in Ukraine, with Moscow’s defence ministry confirming Thursday that forces intend to seize more towns and villages across the east.
In a ministry video, Gerasimov praised recent successes and claimed Russian forces were advancing unabated on all fronts, positioned just four kilometres from the eastern suburbs of Sloviansk.
The high-level visit coincides with Moscow’s offensive crossing the four-and-a-half-year mark, amidst intensifying summer fighting and stalled US-brokered peace negotiations.
Kremlin forces remain focused on capturing the entire Donetsk region, maintaining maximalist demands that Ukraine surrender the remaining eastern territories.
Sloviansk and nearby Kramatorsk stand as the final major hubs under Kyiv’s control in the area, forming part of a heavily fortified defence line built since 2014.
Sloviansk holds strong symbolic weight, having been briefly held by pro-Russian separatists in 2014 before Ukrainian forces recaptured it.
Responding to the escalating pressure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed top commanders Andriy Biletskyi and Denys Prokopenko on Wednesday to lead the region’s defence.
