Russia’s army chief said on Thursday his troops in Ukraine were “focused on completing the liberation” of Donetsk, an eastern Ukrainian region allegedly annexed by Moscow.
“The situation on the front has stabilized and the main efforts of our troops are now focused on completing the liberation of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov said in a briefing for foreign military officials.
Noting that the battle line was about 815 kilometers long, Gerasimov said the Russian military “hit more than 1,300 critical targets…substantially reduced the combat potential of Ukrainian forces”.
He also said that hypersonic missiles had been “used in combat conditions for the first time,” adding that “damage continues to be inflicted on critical transportation and energy infrastructure deep within Ukrainian territory.”
Gerasimov also called the joint naval exercises currently being conducted by Russian and Chinese warships a response to increasingly aggressive US military behavior in the Asia-Pacific region.
“This cooperation is a natural response to the aggressive build-up of US military capabilities in the region… The exercises we are conducting are in strict accordance with international law,” Gerasimov said after Moscow announced it would send several warships to the war Play off the coast of China between December 21st and 27th.