Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered senior officers to prepare soldiers for the winter during a visit to a command post in eastern Ukraine, the military said Wednesday.
In a video posted online, Shoigu was shown visiting the Vostok command post, where he was said to have been briefed about the situation on the front line.
The Defense Ministry did not say when exactly the general made the visit.
Shoigu also listened to reports about ongoing preparations for winter combat, signaling Moscow’s determination to continue waging its now 21-month-long war into next year.
“Shoigu drew special attention to the timely and sufficient provision of new winter uniforms and insulated footwear for all personnel,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement about the frontline visit.
Media outlets have regularly reported on the Russian military’s supply shortages since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Shoigu’s visit was reported less than a week after President Vladimir Putin made a trip to the Defense Ministry’s Rostov-on-Don military headquarters, which is overseeing Russia’s invasion.
Both Shoigu and Putin made their trips as Russian troops have in recent weeks stepped up their attacks on the industrial city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine.
Shoigu’s last visited the war zone in early August.
AFP contributed reporting.
