A report on Sunday said the top Russian general went on a secret mission to the war front late last week in an effort to prop up his fallen forces — and Ukraine tried to take him out with a missile but missed.
General Valery Gerasimov – Chief of Staff of the Russian Forces and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military right-hand man – embarked on an unusual and perilous journey to Izyum to attempt to “change course” what was a lackluster offensive, New York times It quoted what it described as a senior Ukrainian and American official familiar with the situation.
Russian forces set up camp at Izyum in an attempt to consolidate their gains in the Donbass region bordering Russia.
The US official said Gerasimov was in the area “for two days” when Ukrainian forces took over his visit and launched an attack on Saturday night at a local school that had been seized by Russian forces and where the general was holed up. Earlier in the day, the Times said.
By the time of the Ukrainian attack, the newspaper said, the general had already left to return to Russia.
The newspaper said about 200 Russian soldiers were killed, possibly including Russian Major-General Andrei Simonov, who commanded forces in the town.
It was reported that Gerasimov One of the architects Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which suffered serious setbacks.
For now, at least, Russia has completely abandoned its claim to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and is instead trying to consolidate its control over the Donbass, experts said.
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