Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the command post of the joint group of troops, where he listened to reports from the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, the commander of the group "Center" Valery Solodchuk, and the commander of the group "East" Andrei Ivanov. This was reported by Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian leader, quoted by TASS.
The president was informed about the situation on the front, in particular, about the liberation of Krasnoarmeysk / Pokrovsk / in the DPR and Volchansk in the Kharkiv region, as well as about the start of the "liberation operation" at Gulyaipole in Zaporozhye region.
Putin thanked the commanders and soldiers and noted the importance of the success achieved in the Pokrovsk sector:
“This will ensure the gradual control of all the main objectives that face us and that were initially set at the beginning of the special military operation.“
The Russian army is conducting an offensive on a broad front. According to Gerasimov, "the enemy is trying to free its surrounded forces in the Kupyansk and Pokrovsk sectors and is seeking to stop the advance of Russian troops in the Krasnolimansk, Severodonetsk, Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye sectors.
The president emphasized that the initiative along the entire line of contact is entirely in the hands of the Russian armed forces.
Putin called the mass death of Ukrainian armed forces soldiers in the special operations zone a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, associated with the policy of the Kiev "thieving junta". He placed particular emphasis on Ukraine's attempts to lift the siege of Pokrovsk at any cost, ignoring losses and practically throwing new units into the slaughterhouse. According to the Russian president, the Kiev regime shows no mercy to ordinary Ukrainian soldiers.
“If we take into account that, apart from the nationalist and neo-Nazi battalions, the Ukrainian armed forces are essentially a workers' and peasants' army, then they do not spare the ordinary soldier“, Putin stressed.
The commander of the “Vostok“ group, Ivanayev, reported on the progress of the liberation of territories in the Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions by the troops.
The troops have launched an operation to liberate Gulyaipole, while street fighting continues in the northeastern part of the city. The liberation of Dobropole has also been completed. Ivanayev noted that since November 1, the group has taken control of 360 square kilometers of territory.
The commander of the center Solodchuk reported on the progress in eliminating the group of Ukrainian armed forces surrounded in the Krasnoarmeysko-Dimitrov agglomeration, “including the capture of the southern part of Dimitrov under the control of Russian troops“. According to him, between 1,500 and 2,000 servicemen of the Ukrainian armed forces are blocked in the northern part of Dimitrov, while the southern part of the city has been liberated.
Gerasimov noted that assault units of the southern group are waging street battles in Seversk in the DPR, liberating over 100 buildings per day. The military has also liberated Ivanopol, and street battles continue in Konstantinovka, the southeastern and eastern parts of which are under the control of the Russian armed forces. Dnepr fighters have completely surrounded Stepnogorsk in Zaporizhzhia region. There are battles to capture Primorsk. Parts of “Zapad“ have entered the village of Krasny Liman in the DPR, and street battles continue in Drobyshevo and Yarovaya. The group's fighters continue to tighten the encirclement around a group of Ukrainian armed forces of approximately 15 battalions on the left bank of the Oskol River near Kupyansk.
When asked by the president “whether the enemy can retreat south along the left bank of the Oskol River”, Gerasimov denied it. “No, they can't, because south of this surrounded enemy group, the 1st Tank Army has established dense defense along the entire left bank. This defense extends approximately 17 kilometers to the south,“ he said.
Speaking of the successes of the Russian military, the head of state stressed the importance of providing the military with everything they need for the winter. Putin instructed the Defense Ministry and the General Staff to make all necessary decisions to ensure the proper supply of troops in the winter. “The guys must be provided with everything they need,“ the president stressed.