Shoygu orders Russian troops to step up their actions ‘in all directions’
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu ordered to increase the actions of the Russian army "in all operational areas" in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. Shoygu gave the instructions during a meeting with the commanders of the Russian groups of troops "South" and "Center”. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the increase in activity is necessary to prevent "massive missile and artillery strikes on civilian infrastructure and residents of the Donbas and other regions."
During the meeting, the commanders of the "South" and "Center" groups, Army General Sergei Surovikin and Colonel-General Alexander Lapin reported to Shoygu on the progress of Russia’s “special operation in Ukraine”. According to the Telegram channel Agenstvo, the meeting was also attended by the head of the main operational directorate of the General Staff, Sergei Rudskoy, the head of the main personnel directorate Viktor Goremykin, the head of the main organizational and mobilization department of the General Staff Yevgeny Burdinsky and the commander of the 2nd army corps of the LPR People's Militia, Esedulla Abachev.
This is Shoygu's second trip to Ukraine. The last time he visited Russian troops fighting in Ukraine was at the end of June.
Since mid-July, the Russian army has intensified shelling of Ukraine. One of the most devastating attacks was the missile strike on Vinnytsia, which killed 24 people, including three children.
Three people were killed and 15 were injured in the Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. On July 16, the authorities of the Kharkiv region reported three deaths in the city of Chuhuiv as a result of Russian shelling. On the morning of July 16, Russian troops fired 53 rockets from Grad multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) at residential areas of Nikopol, killing 2 people.
On July 7, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian troops were taking a pause in the fighting in Ukraine to "restore their combat capabilities." "Servicemen are given the opportunity to rest, receive letters and parcels from home," the department said.
Since the end of June, Ukraine has begun to actively use American long-range MLRS HIMARS. Since then, about 20 Russian logistics depots and command centers have been destroyed in the occupied southern territories. Many of them were deep in the rear and were not in range of older missile launchers. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the presence of new artillery systems "has reduced the offensive potential of the Russian army."