The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that "Minister Sergei Shoigu made a rare visit to Russian troops stationed in Ukraine, honored army personnel with medals, and met with senior commanders during the tour." It clarified that he "inspected the command post of one of the formations in the Eastern Military District in the southern Donetsk direction." The statement mentioned that "Shoigu has visited the front lines in Ukraine only a few times since the Russian military launched an attack on the neighboring state last year."
Shoigu was seen in a video released by the Ministry of Defense awarding medals to Russian army personnel and touring a destroyed town accompanied by the commander of the area, Colonel General Rustam Muradov. In a second video published by the ministry later, Shoigu was shown leading a meeting with senior commanders, including Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and General Sergei Surovikin, one of Gerasimov's deputies in the campaign against Ukraine. Shoigu, who has served as Minister of Defense since 2012, has faced severe criticism regarding his performance in the conflict from war supporters.
