Moscow – The Russian army’s chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, has visited troops fighting in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday.
The next round is expected to take place on February 1, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“If Ukraine refuses to cede territory now, Russia will take it by force later — on worse terms for Kiev”
, says Moscow’s envoy to the OSCE, Dmitry Polyanskiy.@Dpol_un
Russia will inevitably take back’ territory from Ukraine – Russia diplomat
It’s the first trilateral meeting… pic.twitter.com/CRA0PEcdCu
— 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐙 🇷🇺 🇮🇪 (@SMO_VZ) January 26, 2026
In a video of Gerasimov’s visit aired by the defence ministry, he said that Russian troops “continue their offensive along all lines”.
He said that since the start of the year, the Russian army had taken control of 17 localities and “more than 500 square kilometres” of Ukrainian territory and was making its way towards the city of Zaporizhzhia.
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Source: AFP
