Jakarta –
Minister of Defense (Menhan) of Russia Sergei Shoigu inspects troops at the front line in Ukraina Timur. This was done during the fighting around the town of Bakhmut, Eastern Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said Shoigu had “checked the frontline command post”, without specifying the exact time or place.
A video shows Shoigu traveling in a helicopter, then talking to a soldier in front of the damaged building. He also presented medals to Russian soldiers.
Russia Controls 3 Villages in Bakhmut
Russia is determined to capture the city of Bakhmut as part of a broader goal to capture the entire Donetsk region. The city is now destroyed by the fighting that took place.
Ukrainian and Russian troops reported heavy casualties in the struggle for control of the city. On Friday, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, said his troops were “practically encircling” Bakhmut. The city has seen some of the fiercest fighting during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The 61-year-old man said in recent weeks that his fighters had captured three villages north of eastern Bakhmut, namely Yagidne, Berkhivka and Paraskoviivka. Ukrainian authorities have said they will defend the “Bakhmut fortress” as long as possible, but this week officials said the situation was difficult.
US Attorney General Visits Ukraine
United States Attorney General Merrick Garland makes an unannounced visit to Ukraine. He vowed to hold “Russian war criminals” accountable for their actions.
“We are here today in Ukraine to say clearly, and with one voice: the perpetrators of these crimes will not get away with it,” Garland said.
He went to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine at the invitation of the Attorney General of Ukraine to take part in the “United Conference for Justice”.
Garland said at the conference the United States was supporting Ukrainian war crimes investigators. This was done as they collected and listed evidence from explosion sites which included hospitals, apartment buildings and schools.
The US attorney general said that since the invasion began a year ago, Russia has committed atrocities on the largest scale of any conflict since World War II.
The United States has also signed agreements with Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia and Romania
“It will strengthen our efforts to hold Russian war criminals accountable,” said US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
(kny/jbr)
