Putin visits battle zone in Ukraine as Russian military chiefs claim 2 more settlements captured

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday visited the battle zone in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.

Putin received briefings from Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, as well as military commanders of the Center group Valery Solodchuk and the Vostok Group Andrey Ivanaev, according to a Kremlin statement.

Putin was informed about the situation on the frontline. According to Russian military chiefs, the cities of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region and Volchansk in the Kharkiv region have come under Russian control.

Putin thanked the commanders and soldiers and noted the importance of the success achieved in the Pokrovsk area.

"This will ensure that we consistently solve all the main tasks that we face and were initially set at the beginning of the special military operation," he said.

Gerasimov also reported that Ukraine's forces are trying to unblock its encircled groups in the Kupiansk and Pokrovsk directions, and have launched counteroffensives in other directions.

Ivanaev, the commander of the Vostok group, spoke about the progress in the Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

He claimed that the Russian forces entered the town of Huliaipole and captured the Dobropillia settlement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier confirmed that the situation in the regions, mentioned by the Russian military chiefs, remains the most tense.

Commenting on Pokrovsk, he said, "No one is forcing them (soldiers) to die for the ruins. I will support the soldiers there, especially the commanders, in how they can control the situation."

According to the Ukrainian president, by establishing control over Pokrovsk, Russia will "try to convince" US President Donald Trump that Ukraine should abandon Donbass in order to end the military conflict.

However, Zelenskyy said Kyiv cannot give up its claim of the region saying: "No one will understand it, people will not understand it."