► Russian Defense Minister inspects troops involved in Ukraine offensive
Sergei Shoigu, Russian Defense Minister, visited the headquarters of the Vostok military group. He was presented with a report on the situation on the ground and “progress in carrying out combat tasks on the main directions”according to the Russian army, which did not specify in its press release where the staff is located, which may be in Russia as well as in Ukraine.
Video released by the Russian Defense Ministry showed Sergei Shoigu holding a meeting with Russian commanders in person and via videoconference. Among those who participated by videoconference is in particular the chief of the Russian general staff, Valeri Guerassimov, recently placed at the head of the Russian operation in Ukraine.
In December 2022, Sergei Shoigu had already visited the area of the Russian military operation in Ukraine twice, according to the Ministry of Defense.
► Visit of a senior American diplomat to kyiv
Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman meets with Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials “to reaffirm the strong and unwavering commitment of the United States to Ukraine and its defense against unprovoked Russian aggression”said the State Department spokesperson.
Wendy Sherman led a delegation to the Ukrainian capital where she notably met Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. The delegations discussed helping to strengthen Ukraine’s security posture, for the economy, and to develop a lasting bilateral trade partnership with the United States.
In late December, Volodymyr Zelensky visited President Joe Biden at the White House, where he pleaded for some $45 billion in emergency military and economic aid for Ukraine.
► The toll of the Russian strike at Dnipro continues to grow
The new lifeless body of a child was found Tuesday morning in Dnipro, Ukraine, three days after a Russian strike ripped open a residential building.
War in Ukraine: in Dnipro, after the Russian bombardment, the desperate search for survivors
According to an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, “41 people died (including 4 children), 79 people were injured (including 16 children) and 39 people were rescued (including 6 children)” following the strike, one of the deadliest for civilians since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
The toll could rise further, with the rescue teams still busy finding under the huge slabs of concrete more than twenty people whose fate remains unknown.