Russian President Vladimir Putin, dressed in military uniform as Supreme Commander in Chief, visited a Joint Force command post on Oct. 26, where he was briefed on the situation along the line of contact in the special military operation in Ukraine. “The Joint Force troops continue to carry out their assigned tasks to liberate the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, in accordance with the objectives set for the special military operation,” Chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov said in a briefing with Putin, reported the President’s website. “Formations and military units of the 2nd and 51st armies, advancing along converging axes, have completed the encirclement of the enemy in the Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov areas. A large group of Ukrainian Armed Forces, comprising 31 battalions, was blocked….”
Secondly, “Kupyansk is encircled in the direction of operations of the West group of forces” where “18 combat battalions in total—are encircled.” The President’s website transcript reports that it was noted that up to 5,000 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel are encircled in the Kupyansk direction, and 5,500 in the Krasnoarmeysk direction. Gerasimov also noted advances on other parts of the front, including by the North and South groups of forces.
After Gerasimov completed his briefing, Putin praised the heroism of the Russian troops that made these battlefield advances possible, but also remarked that “extensive and challenging efforts have to be made in order to eliminate the encircled enemy formations….
“First, in order to minimize avoidable human losses, I ask (just as we have done before) that you take all possible comprehensive measures to secure the surrender of Ukrainian service personnel—those who wish to lay down arms,” Putin said. Despite the difficulties in achieving that “we must act and treat prisoners in accordance with international law and the laws of the Russian Federation,” Putin went on. “Historically, the Russian army has shown mercy to a defeated foe, and we will act from that tradition. We have discussed this on numerous occasions. You have reported on various incidents across different combat zones, and I would like to ask you to continue to act in the same manner.”
