The commander of the Russian army makes rare visits to the front line, but stays at home

Valeriy Gerasimov (center) studies maps with the Russian military in Ukraine

Since then, General Gerasimov has rarely appeared in public Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, launched a short-lived mutiny against Moscow military leaders.

Mr. Prigozhin was an outspoken critic of General Gerasimov and Sergei Shoigu, Russia's defense minister, whom he accuses of deliberately depriving his Wagner forces of ammunition and supplies in their attempt to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

The brief mutiny was ended through negotiations, but General Gerasimov was not seen for two weeks, raising questions about whether he kept his job.

His public appearances on July 10 and Tuesday were probably intended to a sign that he remained at his post.

Currently, Ukrainian forces are advancing along three directions of attack — to Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Bakhmut.

Their troops, advancing south from Velyka Novoselka in Donetsk and Orekhovo in Zaporozhye, managed to retake territory from Russian occupation last week in what has been called the main thrust of Kiev's counteroffensive.

2807 Map of Ukraine

British Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Tuesday described the fighting as «intense fighting» in its daily operational reports.

Russian troops defending the Orekhovskoye direction «probably struggled with battle fatigue and exhaustion,» the MoD said.

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It was reported that south of Velikaya Novoselka, Moscow’s forces were deployed from various areas along the entire front line, which “created coordination problems.”

“In the south, the common problems for the Russian command are likely to be a lack of artillery ammunition , lack of reserves and problems with securing the flanks of units in the defense,” the message says.

The General Staff of Ukraine. acknowledged on Tuesday that its forces continued offensive operations in the directions of the southern port cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk.

«The Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to conduct offensive operations in the Melitopol and Berdyansk directions, consolidate positions, and continue to fire at the enemy» ,» the daily battlefield report said on Tuesday.

However, pro-Russian sources say fighting has slowed in recent days.

Rybar, a respected Russian military blogger, said the Ukrainian Forces are holding Staromayorske, a town in the Donetsk region that Kiev recaptured from Russia last week.

The Telegram channel also reported that Ukrainian forces continue to attack Robotine, a village in Zaporozhye.